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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


No.  i.  The  Laws  and  Courts  of  Northwest  and  Indiana  Territories. 
By  Daniel  Wait  Howe. 

No.  2.  The  Life  and  Services  of  John  B.  Dillon.  By  Gen.  John  Coburn 
and  Judge  Horace  P.  Biddle. 

No.  3.  The  Acquisition  of  Louisiana.  By  Judge  Thomas  M.  Cooley. 

No.  4.  Loughery’s  Defeat  and  Pigeon  Roost  Massacre.  By  Charles 
Martindale. 

No.  5.  A Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the  Official  Publications  of  the  Ter- 
ritory and  State  of  Indiana  from  1800  to  1890.  By  Daniel 
Wait  Howe. 

No.  6.  The  Rank  of  Charles  Osborn  as  an  Anti-Slavery  Pioneer.  By 
George  W.  Julian. 

No.  7.  The  Man  in  History.  By  John  Clark  Ridpath. 

No.  8.  Ouiatanon.  By  Oscar  J.  Craig. 

No.  9.  Reminiscences  of  a Journey  to  Indianapolis  in  1836.  By  C.  P. 
Ferguson. 

Life  of  Ziba  Foote.  By  Samuel  Morrison. 

No.  10.  “Old  Settlers.”  By  Robert  B.  Duncan. 

No.  11.  French  Settlements  on  the  Wabash.  By  Jacob  Piatt  Dunn. 

No.  12.  Slavery  Petitions  and  Papers.  By  Jacob  Piatt  Dunn. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


Volume  II. 


Number  i. 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS 

OF 

NORTHWEST  and  INDIANA 
TERRITORIES. 


Indiana  Historical  Society 


PUBLICATIONS. 


V 


Volume  2. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1895. 


OFFICERS 


OF  THE 

INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

During  the  Publication  of  this  Volume. 


HON.  W.  H.  ENGLISH,  President. 

WM.  W.  WOOLLEN,  1st  Vice-Pres.  and  Corresponding 
Secretary. 

GEN.  John  Coburn,  2d  Vice-President. 

JUDGE  D.  W.  HOWE,  3d  'Vice-President. 

W.  DEM.  HOOPER,  Treasurer.* 

J.  P.  DUNN,  JR.,  Recording  Secretary. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

I 

A.  L.  ROACHE,  W.  DEM.  HOOPER,! 

A.  C.  HARRIS,  J.  P.  DUNN,  JR., 

J.  R.  WILSON. 


*CHARLES  E.  COFFIN,  Treasurer  (since  Dec.  27,  1894.) 
fCHARLES  MARTINDALE  (since  Dec.  27,  1894.) 


LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


Northwest  and  Indiana  Territories. 


The  Northwest  Territory.  Almost  the  last  note- 
worthy act  of  the  old  Confederate  Congress  was  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  The  federal  constitution 
had  not  then  been  adopted,  but  was  under  discussion  in 
the  convention.  The  vast  region  intended  to  be  governed 
by  the  ordinance  was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  On 
the  North  lay  the  British  possessions,  on  the  West  was 
the  great  tract  of  country,  afterwards  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  known  as  Louisiana,  and  between  that  and  the 
Northwest  territory  flowed  the  Mississippi,  with  banks 
yet  as  somber  and  as  wild  as  when  the  bold  La  Salle 
floated  down  upon  its  placid  current.  South  of  it  was  the 
dark  and  bloody  ground,  where  the  recollection  was  yet 
fresh  of  cruel  massacres  and  desperate  conflicts  between 
the  white  settlers  and  the  Indians.  Between  the  territory 
and  the  settled  portions  of  the  Atlantic  sea  coast  stretched 
a wilderness  filled  with  savage  beasts  and  savage  men. 
Within  the  territory  were  a few  settlements  clustered 
around  forts  scattered  here  and  there.  The  Indians  yet 
claimed  title  to  nearly  all  the  land.  The  trails  were  yet 
fresh  over  which  Pontiac  had  led  the  warriors  whom  he 
summoned  to  his  aid  in  his  great  conspiracy  against  the 
whites.  To  reach  the  new  territory  from  the  East  the 
emigrant,  if  he  started  from  the  neighborhood  of  Albany, 

(3) 


4 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


New  York,  made  his  way,  chiefly  by  water,  to  the  great 
lakes,  or,  if  he  started  from  the  region  about  Philadel- 
phia, he  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  transporting  his  goods 
in  six-horse  wagons  or  upon  pack-horses,  and  striking 
the  Ohio  at  Fort  Pitt,  or  Wheeling.  Then  he  proceeded 
by  land,  loading  his  effects  upon  pack-horses,  and  plung- 
ing into  the  wilderness,  or  else  he  took  a flat  boat  called 
an  “ ark’*  or  “broad-horn,”  and  floated  down  the  Ohio, 
exposed  every  moment  to  danger  of  wreck  by  snags,  or  to 
the  bullets  of  the  savages  who  lurked  in  the  darkness  of 
the  woods  on  the  shores.1  When  he  reached  his  destina- 
tion he  found  the  soil  to  be  fertile,  the  vegetation  luxuri- 
ant, all  nature  inviting  man  to  join  with  her  in  developing 
the  wealth  of  resources  that  had  lain  dormant  for  centu- 
ries. But  he  found  everything  as  nature  had  made  it. 
He  had  to  cut  down  great  forests  before  he  could  till  the 
land.  There  were  no  roads,  no  cities,  no  towns,  no 
schools,  no  churches.  The  ground  was  full  of  malaria, 
the  woods  were  full  of  beasts  of  prey.  A treacherous  and 
savage  foe  watched  his  every  motion  with  jealous  eye. 
To  venture  far  away  from  the  vicinity  of  his  co-pioneers 
was  to  run  the  risk  of  being  tomahawked  and  scalped.  It 
was  in  this  wild  and  savage  wilderness  that  civil  govern- 
ment was  now  about  to  be  established,  and  the  reign  of 
law  to  be  inaugurated. 

The  Ordinance  of  1787.  The  ordinance  of  1787  has 
well  been  called  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  Northwest.  It 
prohibited  slavery  forever  within  the  limits  of  the  terri- 
tory. It  secured  religious  freedom.  It  provided  that 
“ schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  en- 
couraged.” It  recognized  and  reaffirmed  all  those  car- 
dinal guarantees  of  life,  liberty  and  property  which  our 
English  ancestors  had  wrested  from  unwilling  monarchs, 

1 Parkman’s  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  p.  151.  McMaster’s  History  of 
United  States,  Vol.  2,  p.  144.  Cist’s  Cincinnati  Miscellany, Vol.  2,  p.  147. 


% 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


5 


and  those  which  our  forefathers  had  sanctified  by  the 
Revolution.  It  was  a memorable  beginning  in  the  shap- 
ing of  the  destinies  of  the  great  states  born  of  the  North- 
west territory,  and  has  left  its  impress  upon  the  constitu- 
tions and  laws  of  all  of  them. 

Plan  of  Territorial  Government.  The  territory 
for  the  government  of  which  the  ordinance  was  adopted 
was  styled,  44  The  Territory  of  the  United  States  North- 
west of  the  River  Ohio.’’  It  was  .stipulated  that  out  of  it 
should  be  formed  not  less  than  three,  nor  more  than  five, 
states.  It  was  provided  that  a governor,  secretary,  and 
three  judges  should  be  appointed  by  Congress.  By  a 
supplemental  act,  passed  in  1789,  it  was  provided  that  all 
these  officers  should  be  appointed  by  the  President  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  that  the 
secretary,  in  case  of  the  death,  removal,  resignation,  or 
necessary  absence  of  the  governor,  should  perform  the 
duties  of  the  latter.  The  law-making  power  was  vested 
in  the  governor  and  judges  until  the  organization  of  a gen- 
eral assembly.  But  the  law-making  power  was  carefully 
limited  by  the  following  provision  : “ The  governor  and 

judges,  or  a majority  of  them,  shall  adopt  and'  publish  in 
the  district  such  laws  of  the  original  states,  criminal  and 
civil,  as  may  be  necessary  and  best  suited  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  district,  and  report  them  to  Congress,  from 
time  to  time,  which  laws  shall  be  in  force  in  the  district 
until  the  organization  of  the  general  assembly  therein,  un- 
less disapproved  of  by  Congress  ; but  afterwards  the  legis- 
lature shall  have  authority  to  alter  them  as  they  shall  think 
fit  ” By  a subsequent  act  passed  in  1792,  the  governor 
and  judges  were  authorized  to  repeal  the  laws  made  by 
them  whenever  the  same  should  44  be  found  to  be  im- 
proper.” It  was  further  provided  that,  as  soon  as  there 
should  be  five  thousand  free  male  inhabitants  of  full  age 
in  the  district,  a general  assembly  might  be  organized, 


6 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


consisting  of  the  governor,  a legislative  council  of  five 
members,  selected  as  provided  in  the  ordinance,  and  a 
house  of  representatives  consisting  of  one  member  for  ev- 
ery five  hundred  free  male  inhabitants,  elected  by  the 
qualified  voters.  The  governor  was  given  power  to  “ con- 
vene, prorogue,  and  dissolve  the  general  assembly,  when, 
in  his  opinion,  it  shall  be  expedient.”  No  bill,  or  legisla- 
tive act,  was  to  be  of  any  force  without  the  assent  of  the 
governor,  thus,  in  effect,  giving  him  an  absolute  veto 
power.  The  judicial  power  was  vested  in  the  three  judges, 
who  were  given  common  law  jurisdiction,  and  any  two  of 
them  were  authorized  to  form  a court. 

Organization  of  Territorial  Government.  The 
first  officers  appointed  were  Arthur  St.  Clair,  governor, 
Winthrop  Sargent,  secretary,  and  Samuel  Holden  Par- 
sons, James  Mitchell  Varnum  and  John  Armstrong,  judges. 
The  latter  declining  to  serve,  John  Cleves  Symmes  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  On  July  9,  1788,  the  governor 
and  judges  arrived  at  Marietta,  which  was  then  the  only 
American  settlement  in  the  territory.1  It  could  not  have 
been  an  imposing  capital,  for  we  are  told  by  Harris  in  his 
Journal  of  a Tour  in  the  Northwest  Territory2  that  by  the 
first  of  December  in  that  year,  “ besides  single  men  and 
others  for  the  purpose  of  building  cabins  for  the  reception 
of  their  families,  about  twenty  families  had  arrived.”  The 
same  writer  deemed  it  worthy  of  note  that  as  late  as  1803 
the  buildings  were  “ neat,  though  small,  and  furnished,  in 
many  instances,  with  brick  chimneys  and  glass  windows.”3 

The  First  Court.  The  first  court  held  in  the  North- 
west territory  was  opened  at  Marietta,  September  2,  1788, 
and  the  opening  is  thus  described  by  a writer  in  Cist’s  Cin- 
cinnati Miscellany  :4  “ The  procession  was  formed  at  the 

Point  [where  most  of  the  settlers  resided]  in  the  following 


Phase’s  Sketch  of  Ohio,  pp.  18,  19.  *p.  191.  sId.  58.  4Vol.  1,  p.  229. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES.  7 

order:  1st,  the  high  sheriff  with  his  drawn  sword,  2nd 
the  citizens,  3rd,  the  officers  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Har- 
mer,  4th,  the  members  of  the  bar,  5th,  the  supreme  judges, 
6th,  the  governor  and  clergyman,  7th,  the  newly  appointed 
judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  General  Rufus  Put- 
nam and  Benj.  Tupper.  They  marched  up  a path  that 
had  been  cut  and  cleared  through  the  forest  to  Campus 
Martius  Hall  [Stockdale],  when  the  whole  counter 
marched  and  the  judges,  Putnam  and  Tupper,  took  their 
seats.  The  clergyman,  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler,  then  invoked  the 
divine  blessing.  The  sheriff,  Col.  Ebenezer  Sproat  [one 
of  nature’s  nobles],  proclaimed  with  a solemn  ‘Oyes’  that 
‘ a court  is  opened  for  the  administration  of  even  handed 
justice  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  to  the  guilty  and  the  inno- 
cent, without  respect  of  persons,  none  to  be  punished  with- 
out a trial  by  their  peers,  and  then  in  pursuance  of  the 
laws  and  evidence  in  the  case.’  ” A large  body  of  In- 
dians, collected  from  the  most  powerful  tribes  in  the  West, 
and  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  making  a treaty,  were 
present.  “What  were  their  impressions,”  the  writer  adds, 
“ we  are  not  told.” 

Laws  of  the  Governor  and  Judges.  The  governor 
and  judges  began  to  exercise  their  legislative  functions  in 
July  of  the  same  year,  and  sessions  were  held  by  them  at 
various  times  until  the  convening  of  the  general  assembly. 
The  laws  enacted  by  them  were  originally  printed  in  four 
volumes:  volume  1,  containing  the  laws  of  1788,  1790  and 
1791  ; volume  2,  containing  the  laws  of  1792  ; volume  3, 
the  first  book  printed  in  the  territory,  containing  the  laws 
of  1795,  commonly  known  as  the  Maxwell  code,  from  the 
name  of  the  printer ; volume  4,  containing  the  laws  of 
1798. 1 


‘The  original  printed  volumes  have  long  since  become  rarities  ; only  a 
few  are  to  be  found  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  none  in  any  of  the  state 
or  public  libraries.  Mr.  John  M.  Judah,  of  Indianapolis,  Mr.  Wm.  Far- 


8 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


The  laws  of  1788  were  passed  at  Marietta  ; of  the  laws 
of  1790,  three  were  passed  at  Vincennes  by  Winthrop  Sar- 
gent, secretary  of  the  territory  and  acting  governor,  and 
the  judges,  John  Cleves  Symmes  and  George  Turner; 
most  of  the  subsequent  laws  of  the  governor  and  judges 
were  passed  at  Cincinnati. 

It  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  mention  in  detail  all 
the  laws  passed  by  the  governor  and  judges.  They  re- 
lated chiefly  to  the  organization  of  courts  and  rules  of 
practice,  the  raising  of  revenue,  the  fees  of  officers,  crimes 
and  punishments,  the  government  of  the  militia  and  other 
matters  which  would  naturally  demand  the  attention  of  the 
law-makers  of  a new  country.  Some  of  them,  however, 
may  be  briefly  noticed. 

Militia  Law  of  1788.  The  very  first  act,  as  a matter 
of  course,  was  “ a law  for  regulating  and  establishing  the 
militia,”  adopted  July  25,  1788,  the  4th  section  of  which 
provides  that  “the  corps  shall  be  paraded  at  ten  o’clock  in 
the  morning  of  each  first  day  of  the  week,  armed,  equipped 
and  accoutred  as  aforesaid,  in  convenient  places  next  ad- 
jacent to  the  place  or  places  assigned,  or  to  be  assigned, 
for  public  worship.”1  This  provision  was  not  repealed 
until  1 795. 2 

Pillories  and  Whipping  Posts.  Pillories,  whipping 
posts  and  stocks  were  authorized  to  be  built  in  each 
county  for  the  punishment  of  offenders  against  the  laws, 
of  which  there  were  a number  providing  for  such  a pun- 

rell,  of  Paoli,  and  Gen.  Alvin  P.  Hovey,  of  Mount  Vernon,  each  have 
complete  sets.  A reprint  was  published  in  Cincinnati,  containing  the 
laws  of  the  governor  and  judges,  and  also  the  laws  of  the  first  and  second 
sessions  of  the  first,  and  of  the  first  session  of  the  second  territorial  gen- 
eral assemblies.  To  this  reprint  is  prefixed,  “A  Sketch  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,”  which  is  understood  to  have  been  written  by  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
and  which  contains  much  valuable  information.  The  references  in  this 
paper  are  to  the  Cincinnati  reprint. 

Taws  N.  W.  T.  92.  2Id.  191. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


9 

ishment.  At  these  whipping  posts  not  only  men  but 
women  were  publicly  whipped.1 

Disobedient  Children  and  Servants.  In  section  19 
of  the  law  of  1788  respecting  crimes  and  punishments  is 
this  curious  provision  : “If  any  children  or  servants  shall, 
contrary  to  the  obedience  due  to  their  parents  or  masters, 
resist  or  refuse  to  obey  their  lawful  commands,  upon  com- 
plaint thereof  to  a justice  of  the  peace,  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  such  justice  to  send  him  or  them  so  offending  to  the  gaol 
or  house  of  correction,  there  to  remain  until  he  or  they  shall 
humble  themselves  to  the  said  parent’s  or  master’s  satisfac- 
tion.”2 It  is  quite  probable  that  this  law  was  aimed  at  the 
servants  rather  than  at  the  children. 

Liquor  Laws.  The  evils  of  intemperance  began  to  be 
felt  at  an  early  period  and  laws  were  adopted  from  time 
to  time  requiring  a license  to  retail,  forbidding  the  sale  to 
Indians  and  minors,  the  harboring  or  trusting  of  minors  or 
servants,  or  the  collection  of  a balance  due  over  $3.00  of  a 
debt  for  liquor  sold  on  credit.  Nevertheless,  amongst  other 
enumerated  grounds  in  the  license  law  of  1792  for  the  revo- 
cation of  licenses  to  tavern  keepers,  one  was  for  failure  to 
do  his  or  her  duty  therein  “as  well  in  providing  good  and 
wholesome  food  for  man  and  beast,  as  in  keeping  ordinary 
liquors  of  good  and  salutary  quality.”3 

Taxes.  The  law  for  the  collection  of  taxes  was  very 
stringent;  section  8 of  the  tax  law  of  1792  provided  that 
any  person  refusing  to  pay  taxes  assessed  for  twelve  days 
after  demand  should  be  committed  to  the  county  jail,  there 
to  remain  until  the  same  should  be  paid  or  he  be  thence 
delivered  by  due  order  of  law.4  v 

Poor  Debtors.  Poor  debtors  fared  very  hardly.  . Im- 
prisonment for  debt  prevailed  in  the  territory,  as  it  did 
generally  in  England  and  America  at  that  period.  Such 


1Cist  Cinti.  Misc.,Vol.  i,  p.  150.  ’Laws  N.W.T.  100.  sId.n6.  ||6.  4Id.  120. 


IO 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTSOF 


debtors,  whether  confined  for  non-payment  of  a judgment 
for  a tort  or  a debt,  were  entitled  to  a diet  of  bread  and 
water  only,  and,  when  released,  the  sheriff  might  sue  them 
for  the  expense  of  keeping  them  and  put  them  in  jail 
again.  In  1795  a law  was  passed  entitled  “a  law  for  the 
easy  and  speedy  recovery  of  small  debts,’’  which  was  a 
very  stringent  law,  giving  justices  of  the  courts  of  com- 
mon pleas  and  justices  of  the  peace  exclusive  jurisdiction, 
without  benefit  of  appeal,  of  actions  for  the  recovery  of 
debts  under  $5.00,  and  providing  for  imprisonment  of 
the  debtor  until  payment  of  the  judgment  and  costs.  This 
was  still  more  oppressive  by  reason  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  counties  and  the  costs  of  service  of  process,  and  by  the 
practice  of  splitting  up  demands  into  sums  under  $5.00,  and 
so  making  several  suits  for  the  same  debt. 

Attorneys.  The  law  of  1792  respecting  attorneys  pro- 
vides the  oath  to  be  administered  to  them,  which  contains 
in  a nutshell  the  duties  of  an  honorable  lawyer.  It  is  as 
follows  : “I  swear  that  I will  do  no  falsehood  nor  consent 
to  the  doing  of  any  in  the  courts  of  justice,  and  if  I know 
of  an  intention  to  commit  any  I will  give  knowledge  there- 
of to  the  justices  of  the  said  courts  or  some  of  them,  that  it 
may  be  prevented.  I will  not  wittingly  or  willingly  pro- 
mote or  sue  any  false,  groundless  or  unlawful  suit,  nor  give 
aid  or  consent  to  the  same,  and  I will  conduct  myself  in 
the  office  of  an  attorney  within  the  said  courts  according  to 
the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  discretion  and  with  all  good 
fidelity  as  well  to  the  courts  as  my  client,  so  help  me 
God.”1  That  there  might  not  be  a “corner”  made  on  at- 
torneys where  they  were  scarce  it  was  provided  in  section 
2 of  the  same  law  that  neither  plaintiff  nor  defendant 
should  be  allowed  more  than  two  attorneys,  and  that, 
where  there  were  only  two  attorneys  attending  the  court, 
neither  plaintiff  nor  defendant  should  have  more  than  one. 


'Laws  N.  W.  T.  127. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


II 


English  Common  Law.  A very  important  law,  taken 
from  the  Virginia  code,  was  adopted  in  1795,  providing 
that  the  common  law  of  England  and  all  statutes  or  acts 
of  the  British  Parliament  in  aid  thereof  prior  to  the  fourth 
year  of  the  reign  of  King  James  the  First,  and  which  were 
of  a general  nature,  should  be  in  force  in  the  territory.1 

A Legislative  Threat  to  Legislate.  A very  curi- 
ous and,  it  is  believed,  the  only  instance  known  of  a threat 
to  legislate  by  a legislative  body,  is  found  in  section  21  of 
the  act  respecting  crimes  and  punishments,  adopted  in 
1788.  This  section  is  as  follows:  “Whereas  idle,  vain 
and  obscene  conversation,  profane  cursing  and  swearing, 
and  more  especially  the  irreverently  mentioning,  calling 
upon  or  invoking,  the  sacred  and  supreme  Being,  by  any  of 
the  divine  characters  in  which  he  hath  graciously  conde- 
scended to  reveal  his  infinitely  beneficent  purposes  to  man- 
kind are  repugnant  to  every  moral  sentiment,  subversive 
of  every  civil  obligation,  inconsistent  with  the  ornaments 
of  polished  life  and  abhorrent  to  the  principles  of  the 
most  benevolent  religion.  It  is  expected,  therefore,  if 
crimes  of  this  kind  should  exist,  they  will  not  find  encour- 
agement, countenance,  or  approbation  in  this  territory. 
It  is  strictly  enjoined  upon  all  officers  and  ministers  of 
justice,  upon  parents  and  others,  heads  of  families,  and 
upon  others  of  every  description,  that  they  abstain  from 
practices  so  vile  and  irrational ; and  that  by  example  and 
precept,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  they  prevent  the 
necessity  of  adopting  and  publishing  laws  with  penalties 
upon  this  head.  And  it  is  hereby  declared  that  government 
will  consider  as  unworthy  its  confidence  all  those  who  may 
obstinately  violate  these  injunctions.  ”2  It  is  probable  that, 
notwithstanding  this  fine  specimen  of  legislative  eloquence, 
the  wicked  went  on  in  the  same  old  way,  for  in  1799  the 


'Laws  N.  W.  T.  190.  JId.  101. 


12 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


general  assembly  enacted  a law  making  the  desecration  of 
the  Sabbath  and  profane  swearing  finable  offenses. 

Validity  and  Character  of  Laws  of  Governor 
and  Judges.  In  the  laws  adopted  by  the  governor 
and  judges  prior  to  1795  very  little  regard  seems  to 
have  been  paid  by  them  to  the  provision  in  the  ordi- 
nance of  1787  limiting  them  in  the  making  of  laws  to 
the  adoption  of  the  laws  of  the  original  states.  Some 
were  adopted  from  the  code  of  Kentucky,  which  was  not 
an  original  state,  and  some  were  not  copied  from  the  laws 
of  any  state,  but  were  enacted  by  them  for  the  first  time. 
In  consequence  of  this  several  of  them  were  disapproved 
by  Congress.  All  the  laws  adopted  in  1792  were,  for 
this  reason,  disapproved  by  Congress  in  1794,  except  an 
act  creating  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  legislature.  The 
congressional  committee  in  its  report  said : “These  laws 
appear  to  have  been  passed  by  the  secretary  and  judges  on 
the  idea  that  they  were  possessed  generally  of  legislative 
power  and  have  not,  either  in  whole,  or  in  part,  been 
adopted  from  laws  of  the  original  states. m After  that  the 
governor  and  judges  were  generally  careful  to  designate, 
in  the  title  of  the  laws  adopted  by  them,  the  state  from 
which  they  purported  to  have  been  drawn,  but  Judge  Bur- 
net asserts  that  many  of  them  were  mutilated  and  changed 
so  as  to  retain  little  more  than  the  title  and  the  enacting 
clause,  the  body  of  the  act  being  stricken  out  and  the 
vacancy  being  supplied  with  matter  to  suit  the  governor 
and  judges.1 2  But  in  a note  to  the  Cincinnati  reprint  of 
the  laws  of  the  Northwest  territory  it  is  said,  speaking  of 
the  laws  of  1795  (the  Maxwell  code)  : “In  regard  to  these 
laws,  which  are  almost  a literal  transcript  of  the  adopted 
statutes,  the  legislative  power  conferred  by  the  ordinance 
seems  to  have  been  very  strictly  pursued.”3  It  was  doubt- 

1Am.  State  Papers,  Misc.,  Vol.  i,  p.  82.  *Burnet’s  Notes  64;  Id.  312. 

sLaws  N.  W.  T.  138,  note. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


13 


less  impracticable  to  adapt  to  the  new  territory  the  laws 
of  the  older  states  without  many  alterations,  and  that  the 
governor  and  judges  did  not  mean  willfully  to  abuse  their 
power  is  manifest  from  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  laws 
adopted  by  them  were  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  territory.  Judge  Chase,  in  the 
preface  to  the  Cincinnati  reprint  of  the  laws  of  the 
Northwest  territory,  speaking  of  the  Maxwell  code, 
says  that  “it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  colony,  at  so 
early  a period  after  its  first  settlement,  ever  had  so  good  a 
code  of  laws.’’1 

Laws  of  First  General  Assembly.  By  the  year  1799 
the  territory  contained  a free  male  population  of  five  thou- 
sand, and  eight  organized  counties,  and  was  ready  to  pass 
to  second  grade ; that  is,  to  have  a territorial  general 
assembly.  Representatives  were  elected,  and  on  the  24th 
day  of  September  of  that  year  the  general  assembly  was 
organized.  The  first  act  passed  was  one  confirming  all 
the  laws  of  the  governor  and  judges  prior  to  1795  and  not 
repealed  by  subsequent  acts.  Another  act  was  passed 
making  promissory  notes  and  inland  bills  of  exchange 
negotiable.  Another  was  passed  for  the  relief  of  persons 
imprisoned  for  debt,  whereby  the  harshness  of  the  former 
laws  was  very  much  mitigated.  Thirty-seven  acts  in  all 
were  passed  and  approved  by  the  governor,  but  most  of 
them  are  not  now  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  special 
mention.  Besides  the  thirty-seven  acts  approved  by  the 
governor,  eleven  others  were  passed  by  the  legislature, 
which  were  not  approved  by  him,  and  his  action  in  so 
freely  exercising  his  veto  power  caused  great  dissatisfac- 
tion. The  session  was  terminated  by  the  governor  on  De- 
cember 19.  Two  more  sessions  of  the  general  assembly 
were  held,  but,  as  they  were  held  after  July  4,  1800,  the 


‘Page  27. 


H 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


consideration  of  them  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of 
this  paper. 

Going  the  Circuit  in  Early  Times.  Little  can  now 
be  gathered  beyond  the  technical  recitals  of  the  records  to 
show  how,  or  by  what  sort  of  men,  the  laws  were  made 
and  administered.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  everything 
beyond  the  law  itself  partook  of  the  primitive  character  of 
the  times.  Congress  passed  an  act  in  1792  allowing  two 
of  the  judges  their  expenses  “in  sending  an  express  and 
in  purchasing  a boat  to  go  the  circuit.”  Judge  Bur- 
net, a lawyer  and  leading  member  of  the  first  general  as- 
sembly, and  afterwards  a distinguished  judge  in  Ohio, 
tells  us  how  the  judges  and  lawyers  went  the  circuit 
about  the  year  1801.  They  generally  traveled  five  or 
six  in  company,  with  a pack-horse  to  carry  baggage  and 
provisions,  and  were  sometimes  eight  or  ten  days  in  the 
wilderness.  There  were  no  bridges  and  but  few  ferries, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  swim  their  horses  across  the 
streams.  In  returning  from  General  Court  at  Marietta  to 
Cincinnati,  upon  one  occasion,  the  judge  was  compelled 
to  swim  his  horse  across  five  different  streams.  He  adds, 
that  one  of  the  chief  requisites  of  a horse  in  those  days 
was  that  he  should  be  a good  swimmer.1  One  of  the 
judges — Judge  Parsons — was  drowned  in  1789  in  attempt- 
ing to  cross  a creek.2 

Operation  of  Laws  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
in  the  Indiana  Territory.  So  much  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  laws  of  the  Northwest  territory  because 
they  continued  to  be  operative  in  the  Indiana  territory 
after  its  organization  as  a separate  territory.  At  least 
this  was  assumed  by  the  governor  and  judges  and  general 
assembly  of  the  latter  territory,  as  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  from  time  to  time  laws  were  passed  expressly  repeal- 


’Burnett’s  Notes,  p.65.  lDouglas’  History  of  Wayne  County,  Ohio,  p.  39. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


15 

in g particular  laws  of  the  Northwest  territory  which  had 
been  adopted  before  the  organization  of  the  Indiana  terri- 
tory. It  was  not  provided  by  any  act  of  Congress  that 
the  prior  laws  of  the  Northwest  territory  should  be  opera- 
tive in  the  Indiana  territory  after  its  organization,  nor  did 
the  law-making  power  of  the  latter  territory  ever  adopt, 
as  a whole,  the  laws  of  the  Northwest  territory,  but  it  is 
probable  that  these  laws  were  regarded  as  continuing  in 
force  upon  a principle  similar  to  that  in  the  law  of  nations, 
whereby,  upon  the  cession  or  conquest  of  a territory,  the 
laws,  usages  and  municipal  regulations,  in  force  at  the 
time  of  such  conquest  or  cession,  remain  in  force  until 
changed  by  the  new  sovereign.1  It  may  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  the  first  legislative  act  of  the  governor  and 
judges  of  the  Illinois  territory  was  the  passage  of  a reso- 
lution that  the  laws  of  the  Indiana  territory,  in  force  prior 
to  the  first  day  of  March,  1809  [the  date  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Illinois  terrritory],  of  a general  character  and 
not  local  to  that  territory,  should  continue  in  force  in  the 
Illinois  territory.2 

Organization  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  On  May 
7,  1800,  Congress  passed  an  act,  to  take  effect  from  and 
after  July  4th  of  that  year,  for  the  division  of  the  North- 
west territory.  The  eastern  portion,  comprising  what  is 
now  included  in  the  limits  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  a portion 
of  what  is  now  included  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  a 
portion  of  what  is  now  included  in  the  state  of  Michigan, 
retained  the  name  of  the  Northwest  territory.  All  west  of 
it  was  called  the  Indiana  territory.  Upon  the  admission 
of  the  state  of  Ohio  in  1802  all  that  portion  of  the  eastern 
division  of  the  Northwest  territory,  not  included  in  the 
present  limits  of  Ohio,  was  attached  to,  and  made  part 

^ent,  12th  ed.,  Vol.  i,  p.  178,  note  1.  2The  History  of  Municipal  Law  in 
Illinois  by  Hon.  William  L.  Gross,  contained  in  Proceedings  of  Illinois 
Bar  Association  for  1881,  p.  89. 


\ 


1 


1 6 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


of,  the  Indiana  territory.  The  general  plan  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Indiana  territory  was  the  same  as  that 
which  had  been  adopted  for  the  government  of  the  North- 
west territory. 

Condition  of  the  Indiana  Territory  in  1800.  When 
the  Indiana  territory  was  organized  it  contained  a total  pop- 
ulation of  about  five  thousand,  and  three  organized  coun- 
ties, Knox,  Randolph  and  St.  Clair,  the  two  latter  being  in- 
cluded in  what  now  constitutes  the  state  of  Illinois.  There 
were  but  four  considerable  settlements  in  the  territory, 
one  at  Vincennes,  one  in  the  vicinity  of  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio,  called  Clark’s  grant,  and  two  on  the  Mississippi,  one 
of  which  was  at  Cahokia  and  the  other  at  Kaskaskia.1 
The  nearest  towns  outside  of  the  territory  were  Cincin- 
nati, Louisville,  St.  Louis,  and  Detroit,  all  of  them  of 
small  size.  No  steamboat  had  yet  ploughed  any  of  the 
western  waters.  The  Indian  title  had  been  extinguished 
to  only  a small  strip  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  present 
state  of  Indiana,  covered  by  the  treaty  made  at  Green- 
ville in  1795,  and  to  some  land  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Vincennes.  Something  of  the  nature  of  the  country  may 
be  gathered  from  Judge  Burnet’s  account  of  his  trip,  in 
company  with  a son  of  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  another  gen- 
tleman, from  Cincinnati  to  Vincennes  in  December,  1799. 
They  started  from  Cincinnati  upon  an  ark,  arriving  at  the 
Ohio  falls  on  the  fourth  day.  From  there  they  traveled  to 
Vincennes  upon  horseback,  arriving  there  in  about  three 
days,  having  encountered  upon  the  road  a camp  of  In- 
dians, two  panthers,  a troop  of  buffalo,  and  a wild  cat, 
which  disputed  with  them  the  possession  of  a deserted 
cabin  in  which  they  sought  shelter  one  night.2 

Laws  of  the  Governor  and  Judges.  The  first  gov- 


1The  Indiana  Gazetteer  (by  Samuel  Merrill),  3d  ed.,  97,  Law’s  History 

of  Vincennes,  p.  42.  ’Burnet’s  Notes,  p.  72. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


ernor  of  the  Indiana  territory  was  Captain,  afterwards 
General,  William  Henry  Harrison,  and  the  first  judges 
were  William  Clarke,  Henry  Vanderburgh1  and  John  Grif- 
fin. The  governor  did  not  arrive  in  the  territory  until  Jan- 
uary io,  1801.2  He  immediately  called  a session  of  the 
governor  and  judges  to  meet  on  January  12,  1801.  At 
this  session,  which  continued  until  January  26,  six  laws, 
one  act  and  three  resolutions  were  adopted.  A second 
session  met  on  January  30,  1802,  and  continued  until  the 
3d  of  February  following,  at  which  two  laws  were  adopted. 
A third  session  met  February  16,  1803,  and  continued 
until  the  24th  of  March  following,  at  which  one  law  and 
two  resolutions  were  adopted.  The  fourth  and  last  session 
met  September  20,  1803,  and  continued,  doubtless  with 
several  intermediate  adjournments,  until  September  22, 
1804,  at  which  seven  laws,  one  act  and  seven  resolutions 
were  adopted.  The  laws  of  the  first  session  were  included 
in  one  volume  of  thirty-two  pages,  entitled,  “Laws  adopt- 
ed by  the  governor  and  judges  of  the  Indiana  territory  at 
their  first  sessions  held  at  Saint  Vincennes,  January  12th, 
1801  ; published  by  authority,  Frankfort  [K.]  ; printed  by 
William  Hunter  1802.”  The  laws  of  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  sessions  were  included  in  one  volume  of  eighty- 
nine  pages  entitled,  “ Laws  adopted  by  the  governor  and 
judges  of  the  Indiana  territory  at  their  second  and  third 
sessions,  begun  and  held  at  Saint  Vincennes  30th  January, 
1802,  and  February  16th,  1803  ; published  by  authority, 
Vincennes.  [I.  T.]  ; published  by  E.  Stout,  1804  ” Al- 
though the  title-page  does  not  so  indicate,  yet  the  laws  of 
the  fourth  session  are  included  in  this  volume,  beginning 
on  page  12.  This  was  the  first  book  printed  in  the  terri- 


1In  the  laws  of  the  Governor  and  Judges  this  name  is  always  printed 

“Vander  Burgh.”  2Dillon’s  History  of  Indiana  (ed.  1859),  P*  4°8- 


i8 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


tory.1  While  all  these  old  laws  are  interesting  to  the  law- 
yer and  the  historian,  mention  will  here  be  made  of  those 
only  which  may  interest  a more  extensive  class. 

Early  Tax  Laws  and  Tax  Lists.  One  of  the  first 
objects  of  the  governor  and  judges  was  to  provide  a reve- 
nue, and  several  laws  having  this  object  in  view  were 
adopted.  Looking  at  the  long  and  inquisitorial  form  of 
the  tax  lists  now  presented  to  the  tax-payer  and  compar- 
ing them  with  the  tax  lists  in  “ ye  olden  time,”  we  may 
comprehend  the  poverty  and  simplicity  of  the  people  and 
government  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  By  the  law 
to  regulate  county  levies,  adopted  November  5,  1803, 2 real 
estate  was  taxed  at  thirty  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dol- 
lars of  its  appraised  value.  The  form  of  the  list  for  the 
taxing  of  personal  property  was  as  follows : 

“ Names  of  own'ers. 

“ Number  bond  servants  and  slaves. 

“ Number  horses,  etc.,  above  3 years  old. 

“ Number  neat  cattle  over  3 years  old. 

“ Number  of  stud  horses. 

“ Rate  the  season.” 

This  was  all  the  personal  property  required  to  be  listed, 
and  the  rate  of  taxation  was  fixed  as  follows : “ On  each 

horse,  mare,  mule  or  ass,  a sum  not  exceeding  fifty  cents  ; 
on  all  neat  cattle  as  aforesaid  a sum  not  exceeding  ten 
cents  ; on  every  stud  horse  a sum  not  exceeding  the  rate 
for  which  he  stands  at  a season  ; every  bond  servant  and 
slave  as  aforesaid  a sum  not  exceeding  one  hundred 
cents.”  By  the  same  act  it  was  provided  that  a single 
man  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  not  having  prop- 
erty to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  dollars  and  neglecting 

*But  one  complete  original  printed  set  of  these  laws  is  known  to  the 
writer  of  this  paper.  It  is  owned  by  Hon.  John  W.  Stotsenberg,  of  New 
Albany.  The  laws  of  the  first  and  second  sessions  are  in  the  Massachu- 
setts State  Library.  Taws  of  G.  & J.,  4th  session,  63. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


l9 

to  pay  the  tax  assessed  against  him,  should  be  committed 
to  the  county  jail,  “where  he  shall  remain  until  the  said 
tax  shall  be  paid,  unless  some  reputable  person,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  sheriff,  shall  be  forth-coming  therefor.” 
Perhaps  this  law  was  not  enacted  for  revenue  only,  but 
also  to  encourage  marrying.  At  any  rate  to  pay,  marry, 
or  run  away,  were  the  only  alternatives  presented  to  the 
young  man  of  that  day. 

Besides  taxes  there  were  a few  other  sources  of  revenue, 
such  as  licenses  to  merchants  and  peddlers,  and  fines. 
Another  law,  adopted  November  5,  1803, 1 authorized  a 
tax  upon  legal  proceedings — so  much  upon  each  writ,  dec- 
laration, appeal,  etc., — so  that  in  those  days  a man  had  to 
pay  to  get  into  court  as  well  as  to  get  out. 

The  Judicial  System.  Next  to  providing  for  a reve- 
nue, the  most  important  thing  was  to  organize  a system  of 
courts  and  to  regulate  the  practice  therein.  “A  law  es- 
tablishing courts  of  judicature  ” was  adopted  June  23, 
1801. 2 It  provided  for  a general  court  with  original  and 
appellate  jurisdiction,  and  for  the  holding  of  circuit  courts 
by  the  judges  thereof;  and  also  provided  for  courts  of 
common  pleas  and  courts  of  general  quarter  sessions. 
Other  laws  were  adopted  defining  very  minutely  the  rules 
of  practice  in  such  courts  and  upon  appeal  from  the  lower 
courts  to  the  general  court. 

Fees  of  Officers  and  Attorneys.  The  fees  of  the 
officers  and  attorneys  connected  with  these  courts  were 
also  provided  for.3  Those  allowed  the  clerk  and  sheriff 
seem  to  be  quite  liberal,  considering  the  poverty  of  the 
times.  The  attorneys  do  not  seem  to  have  fared  so  well. 
In  actions  involving  title  to  land  they  were  allowed  in  the 
general  court  $10.00,  in  the  common  pleas  and  quarter 

'Laws  of  G.  & J.,  2d  session,  81.  2Id.,  ist  session,  14.  3Id.,  4th  session, 


32- 


20 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


sessions  $5.00 ; in  all  other  actions  in  the  general  court 
$5.00,  and  in  the  common  pleas  and  quarter  sessions  $2.50. 
For  advice  where  no  suit  was  pending  they  were  allowed 
from  $ 1 .27  to  $3.50.  Jurors  were  allowed  twenty-five  cents 
in  each  action,  and  could  not  make  anything  extra  by 
hanging  the  jury  over  night.  If  they  came  from  another 
county  they  were  allowed  fifty-six  cents  per  day  for  com- 
ing and  returning. 

Slavery  Legislation.  Notwithstanding  the  prohibi- 
tion in  the  ordinance  of  1787,  slavery  existed  in  fact  in  the 
Indiana  territory  for  several  years  after  its  organization. 
Its  visage,  under  very  thin  disguises,  sticks  out  plainly  in 
the  laws  of  the  governor  and  judges.  In  18031  a law  was 
adopted  from  Virginia  entitled,  “A  law  concerning  serv- 
ants.” By  this  law  it  was  provided  that  “all  negroes  and 
mulattoes  [and  other  persons  not  being  citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  America]  who  shall  come  into  this  terri- 
tory under  contract  to  serve  another  in  any  trade  or  occu- 
pation, shall  be  compelled  to  perform  such  contract  specif- 
ically during  the  time  thereof.”  The  benefit  of  such  con- 
tract was  assignable  and  passed  to  the  executors  or  lega- 
tees of  the  master.  If  the  servant  was  lazy  or  disorderly, 
or  guilty  of  misbehavior  to  his  master  or  his  family,  or  re- 
fused to  work,  or  ran  away,  he  might  be  “ corrected  by 
stripes”  on  an  order  from  a justice,  and  was  compelled  to 
serve  two  days  to  make  good  every  day  lost.  All  con- 
tracts between  a master  and  servant  during  the  term  of 
service  were  declared  void.  Such  servants  were  forbid- 
den to  purchase  any  servants  other  than  those  of  their  own 
complexion.  No  person  was  allowed  to  buy  from,  Qr  sell 
to,  such  servants,  or  to  receive  from  them  any  coin  or  com- 
modity whatsoever,  without  leave  of  the  master,  and  viola- 
tion of  this  provision  made  the  offender  liable  to  forfeit  to 


■Laws  of  G.  & J.,  4th  session,  26. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


21 


the  master  four  times  the  value  of  the  thing  so  bought, 
sold  or  received,  and  also  to  forfeit  to  any  informer,  who 
might  sue  for  the  same,  the  sum  of  $20.00,  and  on  failure 
to  pay  the  sum  recovered,  “ to  receive  on  his  or  her  bare 
back  thirty-nine  lashes,  well  laid  on  at  the  public  whip- 
ping post.”  Another  section  provided  that  in  all  cases  of 
penal  laws,  where  free  persons  were  punishable  by  fine, 
servants  should  be  punishable  by  whipping  after  the  rate 
of  twenty  lashes  for  every  eight  dollars.  Another  section 
forbade  the  harboring  or  entertaining  of  any  servant,  not 
having  a certificate  of  his  freedom,  under  penalty  of  pay- 
ing to  the  master  $1.00  per  day.  Sheriffs  in  the  collection 
of  fee  bills  were  authorized  to  make  distress  of  the  “slaves, 
goods  and  chattels”  of  the  delinquent.1  As  has  been  al- 
ready shown,  express  provision  was  made  in  the  tax  laws 
for  taxing  slaves  as  such. 

Crimes  and  Punishments.  We  find  but  few  criminal 
laws  in  those  adopted  by  the  governor  and  the  judges. 
Probably  the  reason  was  that  the  criminal  jurisdiction  of 
the  courts  embraced  all  offenses  which  were  made  crimes 
at  common  law,  or  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
also  because  the  criminal  laws  previously  adopted  in  the 
Northwest  territory  were  considered  sufficiently  compre- 
hensive. Nevertheless,  a few  criminal  laws  were  adopted. 
One  of  these  was  a curious  law  adopted  from  the  Virginia 
code  whereby  it  was  made  a felony  unlawfully  to  take 
away  a maid,  widow  or  wife,  either  for  the  purpose  of 
marrying  or  defiling  her.2  By  another  section  of  the  same 
law  bigamy  was  made  punishable  capitally.  Pillories, 
stocks  and  whipping  posts  were  continued  for  the  punish- 
ment of  crimes,  and  the  general  courts  of  quarter  sessions 
were  authorized  to  make  contracts  for  building  and  repair- 


*Laws  of  G.  & J.,  2d  session,  7 ; 4th  session,  53.  2Id.,  4th  session,  60. 


22 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


ing  them.1  Some  of  the  laws  adopted  by  the  governor 
and  judges  of  the  Indiana  territory  were  clearly  objection- 
able upon  the  same  ground  upon  which  Congress  had  dis- 
approved some  of  those  of  the  governor  and  judges  of  the 
Northwest  territory,  viz  : that  they  had  not  been  adopted 
from  the  laws  of  the  original  states,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  of  them  were  ever  disapproved  by  Congress. 

Sources  of  Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges.  There 
is  this  marked  distinction  between  the  laws  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  judges  of  the  Indiana  territory  and  those 
adopted  by  the  governor  and  judges  of  the  Northwest 
territory  ; of  the  former,  where  the  source  from  which  the 
law  was  taken  is  stated  in  the  titles  of  them,  seven  were 
taken  from  Virginia,  three  from  Kentucky,  two  from  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky,  one  from  Virginia  and  Pennsylva- 
nia, one  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
and  two  from  Pennsylvania  ; whereas  of  the  thirty-eight 
laws  in  the  Maxwell  code,  where  the  titles  express  the 
source,  twenty-six  were  taken  from  Pennsylvania,  six 
from  Massachusetts,  one  from  New  York,  one  from 
New  Jersey,  and  three  from  Virginia.  In  other  words, 
the  governor  and  judges  of  the  Indiana  territory,  took 
only  two  laws  entire  from  a free  state,  while  the  governor 
and  judges  of  the  Northwest  territory  took  only  three  laws 
from  a slave  state. 

Jurisdiction  of  Governor  and  Judges  over  the  Dis- 
trict of  Louisiana.  By  an  act  of  Congress  passed 
March  26,  1804,  the  executive  and  judicial  power  vested 
in  the  governor  and  judges  of  the  Indiana  territory  was 
extended  over  the  district  of  Louisiana,  and  this  jurisdic- 
tion continued  until  the  organization  of  the  territory  of 
Louisiana,  by  an  act  of  Congress  passed  March  3,  1805. 
During  this  period  several  laws  were  adopted  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  judges  for  the  government  of  the  district  of  Lou- 
isiana. 


!Laws  of  G.  & J.,  4th  session,  76  ||  17. 


NORTH  WEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


23 


Laws  of  the  General  Assembly.  By  the  year  1805, 
the  population  of  the  territory  had  increased  to  such  a 
number  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  that  it  should  pass  to 
second  grade,  and  measures  were  taken  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  a territorial  general  assembly.  Up  to  the  admis- 
sion of  Indiana  as  a state,  there  were  in  all  five  general 
assemblies,  having  each  two  sessions.  These  were  held 
at  various  dates,  the  first  session  of  the  first  general  as- 
sembly beginning  on  July  29,  1805,  and  the  second  ses- 
sion of  the  fifth  beginning  on  December  4,  1815. 1 

Revision  of  1807.  At  the  first  session  of  the  second  gen- 
eral assembly  a general  revision  of  all  the  laws  of  the  ter- 
ritory, prepared  by  John  Rice  Jones  and  John  Johnson,  was 
reported  and  adopted,  and  it  was  provided  “that  the  laws 
and  parts  of  laws  in  force  in  this  territory  at  the  beginning 
of  this  session  of  the  legislature  shall  be  and  the  same  are 
hereby  repealed  and  the  revisal  of  said  laws  as  made  by 
John  Johnson  and  John  Rice  Jones  shall,  with  the  several 
additions,  alterations  and  amendments  made  by  the  pres- 
ent legislature,  have  full  force  and  effect  in  this  territory  ; 
and  that  those  laws  so  revised,  altered  and  amended,  shall, 
with  the  laws  passed  at  this  session  of  the  legislature,  be 
the  only  statute  laws  in  force  in  this  territory.”2  The  re- 
vision was  a careful  and  thorough  one,  making  a volume 
of  540  pages,  exclusive  of  the  index  of  28  pages.  The  laws 
embodied  in  it  seem  to  be  re-enactments  in  substance,  and 

1 The  original  printed  volumes  of  the  first  and  second  sessions  of  the 
first  general  assembly  are  very  scarce.  They  were  originally  printed  in 
folio.  Mr.  William  Farrell,  of  Paoli,  owns  the  laws  of  both  sessions,  and 
so,  it  is  said,  does  General  Hovey,  of  Mount  Vernon.  The  laws  of  the 
second  session  are  in  the  Massachusetts  State  Library,  and  the  Hon.  Will- 
iam L.  Gross,  of  Springfield,  111.,  also  has  the  laws  of  both  sessions. 
These  are  all  that  are  known  to  the  writer  of  this  paper.  A reprint  con- 
taining these,  together  with  the  laws  of  the  governor  and  judges  of  the  In- 
diana territory,  has  recently  (1886),  been  published  at  Paoli,  Indiana,  by 

Messrs.  Throop  & Clark.  ‘Revision  of  1807,  p.  539. 


24 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


with  but  slight  change  in  phraseology,  of  the  laws  of  the 
the  Northwest  territory  and  of  the  governor  and  judges  of 
the  Indiana  territory. 

It  would  be  beyond  the  scope  of  this  paper  to  attempt 
anything  like  a synopsis  of  the  laws  of  the  territorial  gen- 
eral assembly.  They  were  such  as  were  adapted  to  the 
times.  The  most  of  them  seem  to  have  been  carefully  pre- 
pared and  the  meaning  of  them  clearly  and  tersely  ex- 
pressed. Some  of  them  deserve  a brief  notice.  The  act 
incorporating  the  Borough  of  Vincennes,  passed  August 
24,  1805,  was  the  first  act  creating  a municipal  corpora- 
tion. The  act  incorporating  the  Indiana  Canal  Company, 
passed  August  26,  1805,  was  the  first  act  incorporating 
a private  corporation.  This  was  an  act  incorporating  a 
company  to  construct  a canal  on  the  Indiana  side  around 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  a project  which  came  to  naught.  In 
the  list  of  directors  appear  the  names  of  George  Rogers 
Clark  and  Aaron  Burr. 

Vincennes  University  and  Lottery.  The  first  incor- 
porated institution  of  learning  was  the  Vincennes  Univer- 
sity, incorporated  by  an  act  passed  November  29,  1806. 1 
Amongst  the  trustees  were  General  William  Henry  Harri- 
son, John  Gibson,  the  first  secretary  of  the  territory,  the 
territorial  judges,  Henry  Vanderburgh  and  Thomas  Terry 
Davis,  and  others  noted  in  the  history  of  Indiana.  The 
preamble  of  the  act  is  as  follows : 

“Whereas,  the  independence,  happiness,  and  energy  of 
every  republic  depends  [under  the  influence  and  destinies  of 
Heaven]  upon  the  wisdom,  virtue,  talents  and  energy  of  its 
citizens  and  rulers,  and  whereas  science,  literature,  and  the 
liberal  arts  contribute  in  an  eminent  degree  to  improve 
those  qualities  and  acquirements  ; And  whereas,  Learning 
hath  ever  been  found  the  ablest  advocate  of  genuine  lib- 


'Laws  2d  session,  ist  general  assembly,  p.  6, 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


25 


erty,  the  best  supporter  of  rational  religion,  and  the  source 
of  the  only  solid  and  imperishable  glory,  which  nations 
can  acquire. 

“ And forasmuch  as  literature  and  philosophy  furnish  the 
most  useful  and  pleasing  occupations,  improving  and  vary- 
ing the  enjoyments  of  prosperity,  affording  relief  under  the 
pressure  of  misfortune,  and  hope  and  consolation  in  the  hour 
of  death,  and  considering  that  in  a commonwealth  where 
the  humblest  citizens  may  be  elected  to  the  highest  public 
offices,  and  where  the  Heaven-born  prerogative  of  the  right 
to  elect  and  reject  is  retained  and  secured  to  the  citizens  ; 
the  knowledge  of  which  is  requisite  for  a magistrate  and 
elector  should  be  widely  diffused.  Be  it  therefore  enacted , 
etc.” 

Sensitive  persons  with  moderate  views  of  lotteries  may 
be  somewhat  shocked,  after  having  read  such  a grandilo- 
quent preamble,  by  section  15  of  the  act  which  provides  as 
follows : 

“And  he  it  further  enacted , That  for  the  support  of  the 
aforesaid  institution,  and  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a 
library,  and  the  necessary  philosophical  and  experimental 
apparatus,  agreeably  to  the  eighth  section  of  this  law, 
there  shall  be  raised  a sum,  not  exceeding  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  by  a lottery,  to  be  carried  into  operation  as 
speedily  as  may  be,  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  that 
the  trustees  of  the  said  University  shall  appoint  five  discreet 
persons,  either  of  their  body  or  other  persons,  to  be  mana- 
gers of  the  said  lottery,  each  of  whom  shall  give  security 
to  be  approved  of  by  said  trustees,  in  such  sum  as  they 
shall  direct,  conditioned  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the 
duty  required  of  said  managers,  and  the  said  managers 
shall  have  power  to  adopt  such  schemes  as  they  may 
deem  proper,  to  sell  the  said  tickets,  and  to  superintend 
the  drawing  of  the  same,  and  the  payment  of  the  prizes,” 
etc. 


2 6 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


We  must,  however,  remember  that  in  those  days  lotteries 
had  not  been,  as  now,  to  quote  from  a modern  historian, 
“abandoned  to  church  fairs  and  gamblers,”  but  were  uni- 
versally recognized  by  governments  and  people  as  legiti- 
mate means  to  raise  money  for  colleges,  churches  and 
everything  else.1  The  birth  of  this  lottery  is  not  so  much 
a cause  of  shame  to  our  forefathers  as  it  is  to  us  that  we 
allowed  it  to  live  so  long.  It  was  upheld  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Indiana  in  Kellum  v.  The  State,  79  Ind.  588,  de- 
cided in  1879,  and  continued  to  flourish  until  1883,  when, 
after  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  Stone  v. 
Mississippi,  101  U.  S.  814,  had  declared  that  there  was 
no  vested  right  in  a lottery,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana 
held  that  the  sale  of  Vincennes  lottery  tickets  was  no 
longer  lawful.  This  was  so  held  in  The  State  v.  Wood- 
ward, 89  Ind.  1 10. 

Crimes  and  Punishments.  Crimes  and  punishments 
at  an  early  period  received  the  attention  of  the  general 
assembly.  Treason,  murder,  arson,  horse-stealing  upon 
a second  conviction,  and  rape,  were  punishable  capitally. 
Burglary,  perjury,  larceny,  hog-stealing,  and  bigamy,  in 
addition  to  other  punishments  provided  for  them,  were 
punishable  by  whipping.  Dueling  was  punishable  by  a 
heavy  fine,  and  all  officers,  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial,  as  well  as  attorneys,  were  required  to  take  an 
oath  that  they  had  not  given  nor  accepted  a challenge. 
An  effort  to  purify  elections  was  early  made  by  a law  mak- 
ing ineligible  to  a seat  in  either  branch  of  the  legislature 
any  candidate  who  should  “attempt  to  obtain  votes  by 
bribery,  or  treating  with  meat  or  drink.” 

Divorces.  Divorces  were  authorized  in  favor  of  a hus- 
band against  the  wife  for  ddultery  or  abandonment  for  three 
years,  or  conviction  of  a felony,  and  in  favor  of  a wife 


^cMaster’s  History  of  United  States,  Vol.  i,  p.  587. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


27 


against  her  husband  for  adultery,  abandonment  for  two 
years,  conviction  of  felony,  and  treatment  so  “cruel,  bar- 
barous and  inhuman  as  actually  to  endanger  her  life.”  The 
divorce  operated,  however,  only  in  favor  of  the  injured 
party,  the  offending  party  being  prohibited  from  marrying 
again  under  the  penalties  provided  against  bigamy. 

Attorneys’  Fees.  It  was  still  deemed  necessary  to 
restrict  the  supposed  rapacity  of  attorneys,  and  they  were 
limited  in  their  fees  in  suits  where  the  title  of  land  was  in- 
volved to  $5,  and  where  not,  to  $2.50.  Where  no  suit 
was  pending  they  were  allowed  for  verbal  advice  $ 1 .25 , and 
for  written  advice  $2.50. 

A Curious  Relief  Act.  Amongst  the  acts  for  relief 
of  private  individuals  we  find  one  which  proves  that  the 
notion  that  the  legislature  is  bound  to  help  everybody  who 
needs  help  is  not  a new  one.  It  is  entitled,  “An  act  for 
the  relief  of  Daniel  French,”  approved  December  26,  1815, 
and  is  as  follows : “Whereas,  it  is  represented  to  this  leg- 
islature that  a certain  Robert  Maffit,  from  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  came  to  the  house  of  said  French,  without 
money  or  property,  and  was  taken  with  the  decay,  and 
lay  near  three  months  helpless,  before  he  departed  this 
life;  and  whereas,  said  French  was  at  considerable  ex- 
pense in  burying  said  Maffit  and  attending  on  him  before 
his  death,  and  said  French  receiving  no  compensation  for 
his  trouble.  For  the  remedy  whereof,  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
legislative  Council  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  as- 
sociate judges  of  the  county  of  Harrison,  when  sitting  for 
county  purposes  are  hereby  authorized  to  make  said 
French  such  allowance  as  they  may  think  just  and  reason- 
able out  of  any  money  in  the  county  treasury  not  other- 
wise appropriated.” 

Territorial  Courts.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  territorial  organization  there  seems  to  have  been 


28 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


more  or  less  trouble  in  regard  to  the  courts.  Serious  in- 
convenience had  been  felt  on  account  of  the  failure  to  invest 
the  territorial  courts  with  chancery  jurisdiction,  and  James 
Johnson,  and  other  justices  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
of  Knox  County,  petitioned  Congress  in  1802  for  additional 
legislation  conferring  such  jurisdiction.1  Inconvenience 
was  also  felt  on  account  of  the  absence  of  any  law  author- 
izing an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
from  the  judgments  of  the  territorial  courts,  which  may 
have  been  rendered  by  a single  judge.  Inconvenience  on 
this  account  had  been  felt,  especially  in  the  Northwest 
territory,  where  two  of  the  judges — Putnam  and  Symmes — 
were  both  largely  interested  in  lands  in  the  territory,  the 
title  to  which  was  a prolific  source  of  litigation,  and  Gov. 
St.  Clair,  as  early  as  1794,  had  addressed  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  a communication  setting  forth  the  necessity  of 
authorizing  such  appeals.2  Accordingly,  by  an  act  ap- 
proved March  3,  1805,  the  superior  courts  of  the  territories, 
where  no  federal  district  court  had  been  established,  were 
given  equity  as  well  as  common  law  jurisdiction,  and  writs 
of  error  and  appeals  were  authorized  from  their  final  judg- 
ments to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.3  A 
court  of  chancery  was  organized  at  the  first  session  of  the 
general  assembly,  but  it  seems  that  the  pay  allowed  was 
too  small  to  secure  the  services  of  the  judges,  and  it  was 
not  until  a subsequent  session,  and  after  Governor  Har- 
rison had  twice  specially  called  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  the  general  assembly,  that  such  a court  was  put  in 
operation. 

There  were  also  doubts  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
courts,  and  Judge  Parke,  who  held  a commission  from  the 
President, wrrote  a long  letter  to  Governor  Harrison  denying 
the  validity  of  some  of  the  acts  of  the  territorial  assembly, 

Annals  of  Congress,  7th  Congress,  1st  session,  1802,  p.  1131.  2Am. 
State  Papers,  Vol.  1,  Misc.,  p.  116.  32d  United  States  Statutes,  338. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


29 

creating  certain  courts,  as  infringements  upon  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  federal  judges,  and  refusing  to  hold  court  under 
such  acts.1 

As  to  how  the  courts  were  conducted,  we  know  but  very 
little.  We  have  an  account  of  the  first  one  at  which  any 
judicial  business  was  done,  in  Wayne  county  in  1811. 
The  account  states  that  it  was  held  in  the  woods,  with 
family  chairs  and  logs  for  seats,  and  that  the  jurors  retired 
for  deliberation  to  logs  at  a suitable  distance.2  In  some 
parts  of  the  territory  it  seems  that  bodies  of  men  styling 
themselves  “ regulators”  were  in  the  habit  of  dispensing 
home-made  justice  after  their  own  ideas  and  without  the 
assistance  of  any  courts.3 

Further  Slavery  Legislation.  The  footprints  of 
slavery  continue  to  be  plainly  seen  in  the  laws  of  the  ter- 
ritorial general  assembly.  It  is  matter  of  history  that  a 
convention  was  called  in  the  territory  for  the  purpose  of 
petitioning  Congress  to  suspend  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
in  the  ordinance  of  1787,  that  two  committees  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  reported  favorably  upon  such 
petition,  and  that  it  was  finally  rejected.4  Notwithstanding 
all  this,  the  Indiana  nullifiers,  in  defiance  of  the  ordinance 
and  of  Congress,  went  on  doing  all  they  could  by  laws  of 
their  own  to  legalize  slavery.  An  act  was  passed  in  18055 
entitled  4 ‘An  act  concerning  the  introduction  of  negroes 
and  mulattoes  into  this  territory ,”  whereby  it  was  provided 
that  the  owners  of  them  might  bring  them  into  the  territory 
and  take  them  before  the  clerk  of  the  common  pleas  court, 
where  such  owner  should  enter  into  an  agreement,  to  be 
entered  of  record,  whereby  he  should  “ determine  and 
agree  to  and  with  his  or  her  negro  or  mulatto  upon  the 
term  of  years  which  the  said  negro  or  mulatto  should 

billon’s  History  of  Indiana,  543.  * Young’s  History  of  Wayne 

County,  80.  3Indiana  Gazetteer,  111.  4Dillon’s  History  of  Indiana.  410. 

5Laws  1st  session,  1st  general  assembly,  25. 


30 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


serve,”  etc.  It  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  slaves  generally 
“ agreed.”  If  they  did  not  the  owner  might,  within  sixty 
days  thereafter,  remove  them  from  the  territory  to  some 
state  where  the  laws  offered  masters  still  greater  facilities 
for  compelling  their  slaves  to  agree  with  them.  After  the 
slave  had  “ agreed  ” with  the  master,  the  latter  might 
hold  him  or  her  in  service,  if  a male,  until  thirty-five  years 
old,  if  a female,  until  thirty-two  years  old.  The  children 
of  such  slaves  were  also  required  to  serve  the  master  or 
mistress  of  their  parents,  males  until  thirty,  and  females 
until  twenty-eight. 

In  1806,  an  act  was  passed  allowing  the  time  of  negroes 
and  mulattoes  bound  to  service  to  be  sold  on  execution 
against  the  master,  and  giving  to  the  purchaser  the  right 
to  hold  them  for  the  unexpired  term  of  service. 

In  the  same  year  the  general  assembly  passed  a further 
act  entitled,  “An  act  concerning  slaves  and  servants,” 
wherein  it  was  provided  that  if  any  slave  or  servant 
should  be  found  at  a distance  of  ten  miles  from  the  house 
of  the  master  without  a pass  from  such  master,  or  his  or 
her  employer,  or  overseer,  it  should  be  lawful  for  any  per- 
son to  take  him  or  her  before  a justice  who  might  order 
him  or  her  to  be  punished  with  stripes,  not  exceeding 
thirty-five.  Another  section  of  the  same  act  provided  that 
if  any  slave  or  servant  should  “ presume,”  without  his  or 
her  master’s  consent,  to  come  upon  the  premises  of  an- 
other, the  latter  might  give  him  or  her  ten  lashes  on  the 
bare  back.  Riots,  routs,  unlawful  assemblies,  trespasses 
and  seditious  speeches  by  such  slaves  or  servants,  were  also 
punishable  with  stripes.  It  was  also  made  an  offense, 
finable  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  $100.00,  to  harbor  any 
such  slave  or  servant  without  the  consent  of  the  master; 
and  to  aid  or  assist  him  or  her  in  absconding  was  finable 
in  any  sum  not  exceeding  $500.00.  This  act  and  the  law 
concerning  servants,  adopted  by  the  governor  and  judges, 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES.  31 

« 

to  which  reference  has  been  made,  were  consolidated  and 
re-enacted  in  the  revision  of  1807,  under  the  title  of  “A11 
act  concerning  servants.”1 

Another  act  passed  in  1808,  forbade  any  one,  without 
written  permission  from  the  master,  to  permit  any  “slave 
or  slaves,  servant  or  servants  of  color,  to  the  number  of 
three  or  more,  to  assemble  in  his  or  her  house,  out-house, 
yard,  or  shed,  for  the  purpose  of  dancing  or  reveling, 
either  by  night  or  by  day,”  and  punished  the  slaves  or 
servants  so  assembling  by  whipping,  “ not  exceeding 
thirty-nine  lashes  on  his  or  her  bare  back.” 

The  act  concerning  the  introduction  of  negroes  and  mu- 
lattoes  into  the  territory  was  repealed  in  1810,  but  it  was 
not  until  1821  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  effect- 
ually put  an  end  to  indentures  stipulating  for  personal 
service  by  declaring  that  they  could  not  be  specifically 
enforced.  This  was  so  held  in  the  case  of  Mary  Clark,  a 
woman  of  color.  1 Blackford,  122. 

Exercise  of  Veto  Power  by  Governor  Harrison. 
Mention  has  been  made  of  the  freedom  with  which  Gov- 
ernor St.  Clair  exercised  his  veto  power.  Governor  Har- 
rison had  the  same  power,  and  the  possession  of  it  was 
viewed  very  jealously,  as  appears  in  the  reply  made  to  the 
speech  of  the  governor  to  the  first  general  assembly,  in 
which  reply  it  was  said  : “ The  confidence  which  our  fel- 
low-citizens have  uniformly  had  in  your  administration 
has  been  such  that  they  have  hitherto  had  no  reason  to  be 
jealous  of  the  unlimited  power  which  you  possessed  over 
our  legislative  proceedings.  We,  however,  can  not  help 
regretting  that  such  powers  have  been  lodged  in  the  hands 
of  any  one  ; especially  when  it  is  recollected  to  what  dan- 
gerous lengths  the  exercise  of  those  powers  may  be  ex- 
tended.2 This  vigorous  hint  from  the  territorial  legislature, 


1 Revision  1807,  34°-  2Dawson’s  Life  of  Harrison,  71. 


3 2 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


coupled  with  the  recollection  of  the  experience  of  Gov- 
ernor St.  Clair,  probably  made  some  impression  upon  the 
mind  of  Governor  Harrison,  for  we  do  not  discover  that 
he  ever  exercised  his  veto  power  at  all,  or,  if  so,  not  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  excite  the  hostility  of  the  general  as- 
sembly or  the  people. 

Early  Legislative  Appropriations.  It  did  not  cost 
so  much  to  make  laws  in  those  days  as  it  does  now,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  appropriations  made  by  the  general 
assembly.  For  stationery  at  the  second  session  of  the 
second  assembly  an  allowance  of  $14.50  was  made,  and 
for  fire-wood  at  the  same  term  $4.50.  But  this  was  prob- 
ably considered  extravagant,  for  at  the  first  session  of  the 
third  assembly  the  allowance  for  stationery  and  fire-wood 
together  only  amounted  to  $2.50.  At  the  second  session 
of  the  third  assembly  the  stationery  bill  was  $3.00,  and 
the  fire-wood  bill  $2.37^.  At  the  second  session  of  the 
fourth  assembly  $3.00  was  allowed  for  candles  furnished 
the  legislative  council. 

The  Convention  and  Constitution  of  1816.  The 
last  territorial  assembly  was  held  in  1815.  The  Indiana 
territory  had  been  divided  in  1805  by  the  organization  of 
Michigan  territory,  and  again  in  1809  by  the  organization 
of  Illinois  territory.  Notwithstanding  this  curtailment  of 
its  dimensions  emigration  had  been  pouring  into  it  until  its 
population  had  increased  enormously.  The  victory  of 
General  Harrison  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  and  the 
close  of  the  war  of  1812  had  insured  peace  between  the 
white  settlers  and  the  Indians.  Steamboats  were  now 
navigating  the  Ohio.  By  1816  the  population  had  grown 
to  about  64,000,  and  application  was  made  for  admission 
into  the  Union  as  a state.  An  act  was  passed  by  Con- 
gress on  April  19,  1816,  authorizing  a convention  to  be 
held  for  the  formation  of  a constitution.  The  convention 
met  on  June  10,  1816.  Thirteen  counties  with  forty-one 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


33 


delegates  were  represented  in  it.  On  June  29th  a consti- 
tution was  adopted.  Brief  as  was  the  session,  the  constitu- 
tion adopted  stands  as  an  enduring  monument  to  the  wis- 
dom of  the  men  who  framed  it.  Its  essential  provisions  for 
the  protection  of  life,  property,  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
and  the  right  of  suffrage,  remain  to  this  day,  incorporated, 
with  some  slight  changes  in  phraseology,  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  1851.  Above  all  it  ratified  and  confirmed  the  pro- 
visions of  the  ordinance  of  1787  in  relation  to  slavery  and 
consecrated  the  state  anew  to  freedom.  Settlers  had 
poured  in  from  the  free  states,  together  with  a goodly 
number  of  Quakers  from  North  Carolina  and  elsewhere, 
until  those  in  favor  of  freedom  outnumbered  and  outvoted 
those  who  sought  to  make  Indiana  a slave  state,  and  when 
they  came  to  adopt  a constitution  they  expressed  them- 
selves very  emphatically  to  the  effect  that  there  should  be 
“neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  this  state, 
otherwise  than  for  the  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the 
party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,”  and  that,  “ as  the 
holding  of  any  part  of  the  human  creation  in  slavery  or  in- 
voluntary servitude  can  only  originate  in  usurpation  and 
tyranny,  no  alteration  of  this  constitution  shall  ever  take 
place  so  as  to  introduce  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude 
in  this  state.”  No  provision  can  be  found  in  this  consti- 
tution forbidding  the  coming  into  this  state  of  negroes  and 
mulattoes.  That  was  reserved  for  another  convention  to 
put  into  another  constitution,  adopted  thirty-five  years 
later,  when  the  virus  of  slavery  had  well-nigh  poisoned 
the  whole  nation. 

Admission  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  With  the  adop- 
tion of  the  constitution  the  convention  also  adopted  an  or- 
dinance, accepting  the  conditions  of  the  act  of  Congress 
which  had  been  made  conditions  precedent  to  the  admis- 
sion of  the  state.  On  December  1 1 , 1816,  Congress  passed 


34 


THE  LAWS  AND  COURTS  OF 


the  act  of  admission,  and  Indiana  was  now  the  nineteenth 
state  in  the  Union. 

Condition  of  the  State  in  1816. 1 Great  and  rapid 
as  the  advance  had  been  from  1800  to  1816,  we  can  scarce- 
ly comprehend  the  distance  which  separates  1816  from 
1886  in  the  history  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  In  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  the  state  the  Indian  title  had  not  been  extin- 
guished. Marion  county  had  not  yet  been  organized,  and 
the  site  of  Indianapolis  had  not  yet  been  selected.  The 
tract  afterwards  known  as  the  “New  Purchase,”  embrac- 
ing a large  part  of  the  central  portion  of  the  state,  was 
still  occupied  by  the  Indians.  The  only  roads  through  it, 
if  roads  they  may  be  called,  were  Whetzelks  trace  from 
the  east,  and  an  old  Indian  trail  from  the  south.  To  reach 
the  interior  of  the  state  by  water  the  emigrant  could  come 
from  Lake  Erie  by  the  Maumee,  and  crossing  the  portage 
near  Fort  Wayne  could  float  down  the  Wabash,  or  else  he 
might  come  down  the  Ohio,  and  then  ascend  the  Wabash 
by  “poling”  his  craft  from  its  mouth. 

The  inhabitants  were  rude  and  simple  in  appearance 
and  manners  and  tastes.  How  they  were  viewed  abroad 
appears  by  an  extract  from  Birkbeck’s  notes.  In  his  jour- 
nal, under  date  of  July  7,  1817,  he  says:  “I  have  good 
authority  for  contradicting  a supposition  that  I have  met 
with  in  England  respecting  the  inhabitants  of  Indiana — 
that  they  are  lawless,  semi-barbarous  vagabonds,  danger- 
ous to  live  among.  On  the  contrary  the  laws  are  respect- 
ed and  are  effectual ; and  the  manners  of  the  people  are 
kind  and  gentle  to  each  other  and  to  strangers.”1 2 


1In  addition  to  the  authorities  cited  elsewhere  in  this  paper  see  Thomas’ 
Travels  through  the  Western  Country,  etc.;  Brown’s  Western  Gazetteer; 
Beckwith’s  History  of  Vigo  and  Parke  Counties  ; Brice’s  History  of  Fort 
Wayne ; Banta’s  History  of  Johnson  County  ; Woollen’s  Biographical 

Sketches.  ’Birkbeck’s  Notes,  p.  79. 


NORTHWEST  AND  INDIANA  TERRITORIES. 


35 

Comparison  of  Ancient  and  Modern  Laws.  The 
people  of  those  days  had  never  heard  of  railroads,  or  tele- 
graphs, or  telephones.  There  were  no  great  cities.  There 
were  no  such  manufactories  as  we  have  now  wherein  are 
wrought  things  more  wonderful  than  the  armor  of  Achilles 
which  Vulcan  forged.  Little  thought  was  had  then  about 
alleviating  the  distress  of  the  poor,  the  improvement  of  the 
condition  of  the  insane,  the  blind,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and 
the  criminal  classes.  It  was  many  years  until  free  schools 
were  established  in  this  state.  Therefore  we  examine  the 
laws  of  those  times  and  find  nothing  upon  these  and  the 
thousand  and  one  other  subjects  of  the  legislation  of  to-day. 
We  look  at  the  modern  statutes  and  in  them  we  read  a 
history  more  wonderful  than  anything  in  the  Arabian 
Nights.  It  seems,  indeed,  as  if  some  magician  had  waved 
his  wand  over  the  land,  making  transformations  more 
marvelous  than  were  ever  dreamed  of  by  Aladdin. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 

VOLUME  II.  NUMBER  2. 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES 

OF 

JOHN  B.  DILLON 


BY 

GEN.  JOHN  COBURN 


WITH  A SKETCH  BY  JUDGE  HORACE  P.  BIDDLE. 


INDIANAPOLIS  : 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1886. 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES 

OF 

JOHN  B.  DILLON 


An  Address  Delivered  eefore  the  Indiana  Historical  Society, 

Septembeb  i8,  1886. 


Gentlemen  : 

In  preparing  a sketch  of  the  life  of  John  B.  Dillon, 
whom  so  many  of  you  knew  well,  I have  met  with  unex- 
pected difficulties.  Having  enjoyed  his  friendship  for 
many  years,  I have,  by  your  partiality,  been  selected  to 
give  you  the  details  of  his  career.  I am  sure  I can  not 
satisfy  you.  I have  the  simple  task  of  biography,  and 
though  I knew  the  man,  and  though  I know  those  who 
knew  him  intimately,  yet  such  was  Mr.  Dillon’s  reserve 
as  to  his  own  career,  and  so  little  did  he  seem  to  value 
himself,  or  his  life  and  works,  that  he  rarely  mentioned 
anything  as  to  his  personal  history.  Perhaps  there  was 
no  trait  in  his  character  more  marked  than  this,  nor  one 
that  could  now  be  more  vividly  illustrated.  I congratulate 
you  that  his  friend  Judge  Biddle  has  come  to  my  aid  in  an 
admirable  way,  with  a sketch  of  rare  interest,  which  I 
annex  to  my  own  remarks. 

In  his  brief  biography  of  Bailly,  the  first  President  of 

(39) 


4o 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


the  National  Assembly,  the  first  mayor  of  Paris,  and  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of 
France,  Arago,  says:  “Eulogies,  said  an  ancient  au- 
thority, should  be  deferred  until  we  have  lost  the  measure 
of  the  dead.  Then  we  could  make  giants  out  of  them 
without  any  one  opposing  us.  On  the  contrary,  I am  of 
opinion  that  biographers,  especially  those  of  academicians, 
ought  to  make  all  possible  haste,  so  that  everyone  maybe 
represented  according  to  his  true  measure,  and  that  well- 
informed  people  may  have  the  opportunity  of  rectifying 
the  mistakes  which,  notwithstanding  every  care,  almost 
inevitably  slip  into  this  kind  of  composition.”  I shall  not 
travel  in  the  line  of  eulogy.  I know  our  deceased  friend 
would  revolt  against  it.  He  would  say  as  Cromwell  said 
to  the  painter  of  his  portrait : “ Put  in  every  wrinkle  and 

wart ; paint  me  as  I am.” 

Itseems  hardly  possible  that  the  early  history  of  one  so  well 
known  here  should  be  so  obscure.  He  left  behind  him  no 
relatives  to  tell  of  his  family  or  ancestry  and  no  record  pre- 
serves for  us  the  facts  which  might  lead  to  their  discovery. 
To  his  personal  friends  he  related  but  few  of  the  incidents 
of  his  early  life.  He  was  born  at  Wellsburg,  in  Brooke 
county,  in  West  Virginia,  it  is  believed,  in  the  year  1808. 
During  his  infancy  his  father,  with  his  family,  removed 
across  the  river  into  Belmont  county,  in  Ohio,  where  he 
died  when  his  son  was  nine  years  old.  Very  soon  after 
this  John  went  back  to  Wellsburg,  where  he  remained 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  learning  in  this  period 
the  trade  of  a printer.  His  education  in  school  was  but 
slight.  The  date  of  the  death  of  his  mother,  whom  he 
mentioned  with  tender  veneration,  is  not  known.  Doubt- 
less he  was  compelled  to  rely  upon  his  own  labor  for  sup- 
port and  education.  At  about  the  age  of  seventeen  years 
he  went  from  Wellsburg  to  Cincinnati  to  reside,  and  there 
remained  about  ten  years,  when  he  came  to  Indiana  in  the 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


41 


year  1834,  and  located  at  Logansport.  While  at  Cincin- 
nati he  worked  at  his  trade  as  a printer,  and  during  his 
hours  of  leisure  contributed  to  the  newspapers  published 
there.  At  this  time  some  of  his  most  widely  known  poems 
were  given  to  the  world.  They  can  be  found  in  the  best 
collections  of  the  gems  of  American  poetry. 

At  Logansport  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  but  never  practiced  his  profession.  He  had  not  the 
popular  manners  and  personal  magnetism  which  seemed 
to  be  necessary  to  acquire  and  hold  a practice  in  an  early 
day.  His  quiet  ways,  shrinking  manners,  hesitation  of 
speech,  nervous  sensibility  and  proud  reserve  kept  him 
from  the  familiar  contact  of  the  people,  and  he  waited  in 
vain  for  the  opportunities  to  display  his  strong  powers  of 
reasoning,  his  faithful  adherence  to  a cause,  his  endless 
research,  his  undaunted  courage  in  advocating  the  protec- 
tion and  defense  of  the  weak,  his  solid  sense  of  justice 
and  his  painstaking  perseverance  in  gathering  the  details 
which  burden  and  wear  out  the  more  indolent  members  of 
the  bar.  He  could  have  surpassed  many  of  his  compeers 
in  certain  lines  of  practice,  but  his  powers  were  never 
tested  or  developed,  after  all  his  preparation.  It  must 
have  been  a grievous  disappointment  to  him,  and  yet  it 
was  one  which  never  elicited  a murmur  from  his  lips. 
What  was  loss  to  him  was  gain  to  all  others. 

But  his  habits  of  study  did  not  forsake  him.  He  de- 
voted his  time  to  the  general  reading  of  English  literature 
and  the  special  investigation  of  the  history  of  the  North- 
western Territory  and  states  formed  from  it,  and,  in  con- 
nection, the  history  of  Indiana.  In  1843  he  published  a 
work  entitled  “Historical  Notes  of  the  Discovery  and  Set- 
tlement of  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio.”  This 
he  called  an  introduction  to  the  history  of  Indiana,  which 
latter  work  was  published  in  the  year  1859.  Let  me 
quote  from  his  preface  to  the  “Notes.”  Beginning,  he 


42 


LIFE  AND  SER  VICES  OF 


says:  “Among  the  historical  notes  which  constitute  the 
introduction  to  this  history  of  Indiana,  I have  inserted 
many  official  documents  relating  to  the  early  affairs,  civil 
and  military,  of  the  vast  region  which  was  formerly  called 
the  Territory  of  the  United  States  Northwest  of  the  River 
Ohio.  From  a very  great  number  of  printed  authorities, 
and  from  many  thousand  pages  of  old  manuscript  records 
and  letters,  I have  selected  only  those  statements  which 
appear  to  be  well  authenticated,  and  connected  either  di- 
rectly or  remotely  with  the  origin  and  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion in  that  large  domain.  With  a sincere  desire  to  cast 
from  my  mind  those  popular  prejudices  which  have  had 
their  origin  in  ambitious  contentions  between  distinguished 
individuals,  or  in  national  partialities  and  antipathies,  or 
in  improbable  narratives  and  fanciful  conjectures,  or  in 
conflicting  political  systems,  or  in  different  creeds  of  re- 
ligion, I have  labored  for  several  years,  with  constant  and 
careful  perseverance,  to  find  out  and  to  perpetuate  all 
the  important  facts  which  properly  belong  to  an  impartial 
history  of  Indiana  from  its  earliest  exploration  by  Euro- 
peans to  the  close  of  the  territorial  government  in  1816. 
Many  interesting  particulars  concerning  the  discovery 
and  settlement  of  the  Northwestern  territory  have  been 
gleaned  from  the  voluminous  writings  of  divers  Catholic 
missionaries  and  French  travelers  who  visited  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  at  different  periods  in  the  course  of  the 
eighteenth  century.” 

This  gives  an  outline  of  the  work  to  which  he  devoted 
several  years  of  labor,  and  which  resulted  in  an  invaluable 
collection  of  data  and  records  which  must  forever  be  the 
treasure-house  of  the  historian  of  this  period.  His  object 
was  to  collect  the  facts,  and  to  state  them  truly  and  clearly 
without  comment,  and  to  this  plan  he  resolutely  adhered. 
He  paints  no  portraits,  no  historical  pictures  ; worships 
no  heroes  or  saints  ; never  glows  with  admiration  at  the 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


43 


performance  of  a great  deed  ; never  condemns  or  cen- 
sures the  acts  of  a dastard  or  coward.  He  is  as  impartial 
as  a pound  weight  or  a yard  stick ; he  lets  each  fact  cast 
its  own  shadow  to  the  full,  under  the  reflection  of  an  un- 
colored light.  His  pages  are  crammed  with  facts,  not 
arrayed  for  the  justification  of  a particular  theory,  or  ar- 
ranged to  demonstrate  some  system  of  historical  philoso- 
phy, but  submitted  in  their  nakedness  and  truth  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  student. 

He  often  spoke  in  terms  of  severe  condemnation  of  his- 
torians who  embellished  their  works  with  comments  upon 
events,  who  moralized  upon  them,  and  filled  their  pages 
with  eloquent  essays  upon  the  facts  which  should  have  been 
simply  recorded.  He  regarded  the  dazzling  and  stately 
periods  of  Macaulay  and  the  picturesque  and  gorgeous 
imagery  of  Carlyle  as  out  of  place  in  history.  While  he 
did  not  underrate  them  as  men  of  the  highest  literary  ac- 
complishment, he  held  that  they  mistook  the  true  office  ot 
the  historian,  and  mingled  in  their  records  of  great  events 
that  which  belonged  to  the  poet,  the  orator,  the  essayist 
and  the  philosopher  rather  than  to  the  impartial  recorder. 
He  never  violated  the  severity  of  his  rule,  and  though  his 
fancy  was  brilliant,  his  choice  of  language  exquisite,  his 
appreciation  of  a noble  deed  or  a grand  character  of  the 
highest  and  truest  order,  he  refrained  from  mingling  his 
opinions,  his  sentiments,  his  praise  or  blame  with  the  sim- 
ple and  severe  narrative  of  the  events  which  he  clothed 
in  the  pure,  strong  and  distinct  style  used  by  the  best 
English  writers.  If  he  made  any  mistake  in  practice  it 
was  in  drawing  the  line  too  strictly  between  history  and 
biography.  They  should  be  combined.  Remarkable 
men  are  great  facts,  and  a proper  part  of  history. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  his  theory  of  the  province  ot 
the  historian  was  the  true  one.  Upon  this  ground  he 
stands  unimpeachable  so  long  as  he  truly  and  fairly  relates 


44 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


the  facts.  To  discover  them,  to  get  all  ot  them,  to  state 
them  clearly,  to  arrange  them  in  their  natural  connection, 
is  labor  enough  for  the  greatest  writer. 

But  mankind  demand  more  ; they  would  have  a histo- 
rian paint  a panorama  ; they  would  have  him  lead  out  his 
heroes  as  did  Homer;  they  would  have  him  teach  lessons 
of  philosophy  as  did  Socrates  and  Bacon  ; they  would 
have  him  shape  his  characters  in  living  molds,  and  bring 
them  upon  the  stage  to  speak,  as  did  Shakespeare.  It 
can  not  be  denied  that  this  is  a work  too  great  for  the 
mightiest  intellect ; that  it  is  unsafe  and  dangerous  ground  ; 
that  the  truth  may,  in  this  attempt,  be  distorted,  or  dis- 
guised, or  warped,  or  entirely  lost. 

And  yet  coming  generations  will  glow  with  renewed  de- 
light forever  over  the  pages  of  Livy,  Gibbon,  Carlyle,  Ban- 
croft and  their  compeers  ; they  will  be  the  leaders  and  apos- 
tles of  history.  And  just  beyond  the  border  will  stand  in 
their  grateful  hearts  the  great  historical  romances  of  Scott, 
Thackeray,  Victor  Hugo,  Bulwer,  Ebers,  Wallace,  and 
others  of  equal  power,  giving  delight,  giving  instruction, 
inspiring  to  loftier  aims.  Men  will  drink  this  wine  ; they 
will  get  drunk  on  it ; total  abstinence  they  will  scout  for- 
ever from  this  divine  liquor  ; they  will  not  take  the  temper- 
ance pledge  against  this  glorious  intoxication.  They  want 
to  see  and  hear  the  great  characters  of  the  past ; they  want 
to  look  into  their  eyes,  to  feel  the  mighty  magnetism  of  their 
presence. 

But,  after  all,  this  is  not  history,  is  not  fact,  is  but  partial 
truth,  is  but  the  fine  art  of  exalted  genius.  And  yet  men 
prefer  it  to  the  statelv  and  dry  falsehoods  and  partial  truths 
which  have  passed  in  memorable  .instances,  for  history, 
age  after  age.  They  prefer  it  because  they  lack  confidence 
in  the  research,  the  faithfulness,  the  integrity,  the  fairness 
and  the  general  ability  of  historians.  They  prefer  it  be- 
cause the  facts  are  often  gathered  for  partisan  or  sectarian 


JOHN  B.  BILLON. 


45 


purposes  and  mustered  to  sustain  an  argument ; because 
such  history  is  not  history — is  as  much  fiction  as  the  pages 
of  the  novelist.  Read  skeptical  Gibbon  and  believing 
Milman,  Protestant  D’Aubigne  and  Hume,  and  Catholic 
Lingard  and  Spalding,  Democratic  Bancroft,  and  Federal- 
ist Hildreth,  and  rid  yourself  of  this  impression  if  you  can. 
A perfect  history  will  never  be  written,  but  the  nearest  ap- 
proach must  finally  be  the  cold,  dispassionate,  unbiased, 
clear,  fair  statement  of  the  facts,  both  as  to  the  events  and 
the  men,  the  acts  and  their  personality. 

Here  let  me  quote  the  opinions  of  a few  brilliant  men  as 
to  the  office  of  history  : 

Lamartine  says  that  history  is  a “complete  picture  of 
humanity,  painted  with  broad  strokes  for  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  in  place  of  being  a lifeless  analytical  table  like  a 
chronology,  or  uninteresting  as  all  abridgements  are,  and 
should  be  living  like  men  and  vivid  like  a drama.  Inter- 
est is  the  true  key  of  memory.  The  heart  of  man  only  re- 
members what  moves  and  impassions  it.  Now  what  is  it 
in  history  that  moves  or  excites  the  masses?  Is  it  things, 
or  is  it  men?  It  is  men — men  only.  You  can  not  excite 
yourself  over  a chart,  or  be  moved  by  a chronology.  These 
abridged  and  analytic  processes  are  the  algebra  of  history, 
freezing  while  they  instruct.  This  algebra  of  memory 
must  be  left  to  the  learned,  who,  amid  their  dusty  books, 
after  reading  all  their  lives  and  crowding  their  repertories 
with  millions  of  facts,  names  and  dates,  desire  to  make  a 
synoptical  table  of  their  science,  in  order  to  be  able  at  any 
moment  to  lay  their  finger  on  the  date  of  a year  or  the 
name  of  a dynasty.  * * * The  mass  goes  straight  for- 

ward to  a small  number  of  dominant  facts,  which  overtop 
history  as  lofty  mountain  chains  divide  and  overlook  con- 
tinents ; it  fixes  these  facts  in  its  memory  by  a small  num- 
ber of  names  of  superior  and  truly  historical  men,  who 
have  associated  their  existence,  their  lives,  or  their  death 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


4 6 

with  these  facts,  and  if  the  historian  has  the  art  or  the  gift 
of  penetrating  in  thought  into  the  spirit,  the  heart,  the  ideas, 
the  passions,  the  public,  or  even  the  private,  lives  of  these 
great  men,  the  common  run  of  readers  agrees  in  neglecting 
all  secondary  events  and  characters  and  identifies  itself  with 
him  in  thought,  in  admiration,  in  emotion  and  even  in  tears 
with  the  thoughts,  actions,  vicissitudes,  virtues,  greatness, 
fall,  triumph  and  catastrophe  of  these  grand  actors  of  the 
drama  of  humanity.” 

In  a similar  vein,  Carlyle  says  : 

“For  great  men  I have  ever  had  the  warmest  predilection. 
* * * Great  men  are  the  inspired  (speaking  and  act- 

ing) texts  of  that  Divine  Book  of  Revelations,  whereof  a 
chapter  is  completed  from  epoch  to  epoch  and  by  some 
named  history.” 

Bolingbroke  says  that  “History  is  philosophy  teaching 
by  examples.”  Macaulay,  speaking  of  this,  says  : 

“Unhappily  what  the  philosophy  gains  in  soundness  and 
depth  the  examples  lose  in  vividness.  A perfect  historian 
must  possess  an  imagination  sufficiently  powerful  to  make 
his  narrative  affecting  and  picturesque.  Yet  he  must  con- 
trol it  so  absolutely  as  to  content  himself  with  the  materials 
which  he  finds,  and  to  refrain  from  supplying  deficiencies 
by  additions  of  his  own.” 

Be  this  as  it  may,  history  will  ever  be  the  great  delight- 
ful study  of  mankind. 

Mr.  Dillon  appreciated  fully  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
in  his  pathway,  and  did  his  best  to  tell  “a  plain,  unvar- 
nished tale.”  His  “History  of  Indiana”  was  published  in 
1859,  and  covered  the  entire  ground  until  the  year  1816. 
It  is  a worthy  result  of  twenty-five  years  of  labor  and 
study  ; concise  and  compact  in  style,  and  embodying  the 
events  of  our  history  as  a Territory  and  State  fully  and 
fairly.  That  was  all  he  claimed,  that  was  his  highest  am- 
bition. This  was  the  greatest  achievement  of  his  life.  In 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


47 


/ 

his  preface  to  this  history  he  says : “The  Historical  Notes 
have  been  carefully  revised,  enlarged  in  reference  to  some 
subjects,  condensed  in  reference  to  others,  and  embodied 
in  this  work.” 

But  it  is  a matter  of  profound  regret  that  Mr.  Dillon 
adhered  too  rigidly  to  his  theory.  He  knew  personally 
many  of  the  eminent  men  of  early  Indiana.  He  could 
have  described  their  peculiarities  of  manner,  mind  and 
body.  He  could  have  painted,  in  truthful  words,  the  por- 
traits of  our  early  governors,  judges,  legislators,  soldiers, 
lawyers,  merchants,  and  men  of  affairs ; their  habits ; 
their  position  in  society ; their  modes  of  life  ; as  well  as 
their  services  to  the  public.  He  could  have  informed 
posterity  of  the  origin-  and  struggles  as  to  the  important 
movements  in  business,  in  politics,  in  legislation,  in  so- 
ciety, in  morals,  in  education,  in  religion,  and  in  war, 
which  stirred  deeply  the  communities  of  the  rising  state. 
With  what  delight  would  his  readers  have  pored  over 
the  true  pictures  of  these  men,  these  events,  these 
steps  of  progress,  which  he  could  have  drawn  from  his 
own  observation  and  from  the  mouths  of  living  witnesses, 
now  lost  forever. 

He  published  in  1871  a work  entitled  “Notes  on  His- 
torical Evidence  in  Reference  to  Adverse  Theories  of  the 
Origin  and  Nature  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.”  The  short  preface  expresses  in  as  concise  terms 
as  possible  the  scope  of  the  work.  He  says:  “Many 
good  reasons  have  induced  me  to  believe  that  a fair  con- 
sideration of  the  historical  facts  which  have  been  com- 
piled from  various  authentic  sources,  and  embodied  in  the 
following  notes,  will  help  in  no  small  degree — 

“First,  to  weaken  the  power  of  certain  political  errors 
which,  from  the  beginning  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  to  the  present  time,  have  constantly  exer- 
cised a disturbing  influence  on  the  administration  of  na- 
tional affairs  ; and 


48 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


“ Secondly,  to  promote  the  growth  and  the  perpetuity  of 
sound  and  harmonious  qpinions  on  important  questions 
which  relate  to  the  origin  *and  nature  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  constitutional  powers  of  Con- 
gress, and  to  the  reserved  rights  of  the  several  states  of 
the  Union.” 

This  little  book  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  extracts 
from  the  opinions  of  statesmen,  lawyers,  judges  and 
authors,  the  resolutions  of  public  meetings  and  legislative 
bodies  largely  contemporaneous  with  the  founding  and 
organization  of  our  government. 

His  conclusion  from  this  evidence  is  : “ First,  that  this 
government  did  not  originate  in  any  alliance,  confedera- 
tion or  compact  formed  by  separate  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent states.  Secondly,  that  all  political  theories  which 
are  founded  only  on  a presumption  of  the  original  sover- 
eignty  and  independence  of  each  of  the  thirteen  revolu- 
tionary states  of  the  Union,  are  errors,  which,  if  they  can 
not  be  corrected,  may  continue  to  be  the  sources  of  un- 
friendly and  bitter  controversies  among  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  relation  to  the  constitutional  powers  of 
their  own  national  government,  and  to  the  nature  and  lim- 
itation of  state  rights.” 

This  work  is  a valuable  addition  to  our  political  litera- 
ture. 

Shortly  before  his  death  he  sold,  for  some  three  hun- 
dred dollars,  the  manuscript  of  his  work  entitled,  “Oddi- 
ties of  Colonial  Legislation  as  Applied  to  the  Public 
Lands,  Primitive  Education,  Religion,  Morals,  Indians, 
Slavery,  and  Miscellaneous  Laws.”  To  this  was  added 
and  included  in  the  same  volume  “ Chronological  Records 
of  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  Pioneer  Settlements,  from 
1492  to  1848,  in  America.”  This  work  was  not  entirely 
published  until  after  his  death  ; in  point  of  fact,  the  latter 
part  of  the  “ Chronological  Record  ” was  not  completed 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


49 


by  him,  but  was  written  out  from  his  notes  and  memoranda 
by  Ben.  Douglass,  Esq.,  from  a point  beginning  about  the 
55°th  page. 

In  his  preface  to  this  work  Mr.  Dillon  says  : “ The  long 
and  careful  researches  which  preceded  the  preparation  of 
this  volume  were  extended,  not  only  into  the  details  of 
American  colonial  history,  but  into  the  records  of  many 
different  races  of  men,  living  under  various  political  sys- 
tems, and  maintaining  divers  forms  of  religious  worship. 
From  these  sources  I have  selected  a great  number  of  in- 
teresting facts  which  throw  light  upon  the  origin  and 
growth  of  civilized  institutions  in  North  America.  Many 
of  these  facts  are  remarkable  and  important ; others  of 
less  moment  may  be  regarded  as  brief  commentaries  upon 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  to  whom  they  re- 
late. 

“ No  attempt  has  been  made  to  magnify  or  diminish  the 
real  significance  of  any  of  the  facts  which  are  recorded. 
As  a general  rule  they  are  submitted  without  comment  to 
the  consideration  and  judgment  of  the  reader.  The  exact 
words  in  which  certain  remarkable  statutes  were  enacted 
place  before  the  minds  of  those  who  may  read  them  the 
most  authentic  evidence  of  the  official  opinions  of  many 
early  American  colonial  legislators.  Historical  truths  have 
been,  very  often,  either  overlooked  or  suppressed  by  differ- 
ent kinds  of  prejudices  or  transformed  into  errors  by  the 
misleading  brilliancy  of  style  of  a historian.  ‘Elegance,’ 
says  Sir  William  Jones  ‘on  a subject  so  delicate  as  law, 
must  be  sacrificed  without  mercy  to  exactness.’  ” 

Pursuing  this  plan,  he  has  produced  a work  that  is  so 
full  of  information  and  so  unique  in  character,  bearing 
such  indubitable  evidences  of  authenticated  and  conscien- 
tious research,  that  it  is  without  a parallel  in  American  lit- 
erature, and  will  be  the  perpetual  text-book  upon  this  sub- 
ject. Here  may  be  found  rare  specimens  of  the  vain, 


5° 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


ridiculous  and  laughable  efforts  of  the  legislators  to  patch 
up  the  ills  of  society,  as  quack  doctors’  medicines  are  in- 
vented, put  on  the  market  and  rejected.  No  such  cabinet 
of  curiosities  can  be  found  outside  of  the  patent  office, 
with  its  ten  thousand  devices,  from  perpetual  motion  to  a 
flying  machine. 

He  derived  but  little  compensation  from  all  his  labors. 
His  histories  were  regarded  as  dry  reading — very  few  of 
his  best  friends  read  them,  and  still  fewer  complimented 
him  on  his  great  and  signal  success  in  giving  to  mankind 
a history  of  the  early  days  of  Indiana  of  unquestionable 
fairness  and  veracity. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1845,  he  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature  State  Librarian,  an  office  for  which  he  was 
admirably  adapted  by  reason  of  his  learning,  his  tastes 
and  his  habits  of  life.  This  he  held  six  years,  when,  be- 
ing a Whig,  his  successor  was  chosen  from  the  Democratic 
party.  The  office  was  regarded  as  a proper  reward  for 
partisan  services  by  both  parties,  and  he  was  retired  and 
Nathaniel  Bolton  was  elected  in  his  stead.  I ought  to  say 
that  he  was  first  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  Democrats 
against  the  nominee  of  his  own  party,  so  that  he  owed 
both  his  election  and  his  defeat  to  his  political  enemies. 
He  served  three  years,  and  was  unanimously  re-elected, 
but  in  December,  1851,  he  was  defeated,  having  been  both 
chosen  and  rejected  in  spite  of  his  political  friends.  It  is 
discreditable  to  the  Whigs  that  in  favor  of  a partisan  they 
opposed  him  at  his  first  election,  and  to  the  Democrats 
that  they  opposed  him  at  the  last;  though  the  latter  may 
justly  claim  the  honor  of  conferring  upon  him  the  office  he 
so  worthily  filled,  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  men  of  all 
parties. 

I believe  that  no  reflecting  man  of  the  Democratic  party 
ever  looked  upon  this  removal  except  with  regret,  and  that 
the  force  of  party  spirit  in  this  case  was  sincerely  deplored. 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


5 1 


The  state  contained  no  man  so  well  qualified,  in  all  re- 
spects, for  the  position  as  he  was.  The  office  was  under- 
valued ; its  importance  has  only  been  demonstrated  to  the 
unthinking  partisan,  when  he  has  visited  the  State  (Histori- 
cal) Library  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  and  seen  there  the 
magnificent  results  of  the  retention  of  a well-qualified  li- 
brarian for  more  than  thirty  years,  in  which  he  can  see  that 
great  state  in  miniature — her  archaeology,  her  history,  her 
biographies,  her  products,  her  geology,  her  mineralogy, 
her  remarkable  scenery,  her  great  resources,  and  all  the 
facts  of  interest  connected  with  the  state,  past  or  present. 
An  invaluable  collection,  a proud  monument  to  the  foresight 
of  the  people,  and  to  the  labors  and  genius  of  the  man  who 
has  filled  so  ably  the  position. 

Had  we  retained  Mr.  Dillon  we  might  have  had  a library 
with  cabinets  and  collections  worthy  of  visit,  instead  of 
the  wreck  that  meets  the  eye  of  the  disgusted  stranger  who 
can  appreciate  such  an  institution.  In  the  name  of  all  that 
is  honorable  and  progressive,  let  us  hereafter,  in  Indiana, 
select  a good  and  capable  person  for  the  place,  pay  the  of- 
ficer a comfortable  salary,  encourage  the  giving  of  appro- 
priations, and  build  up  something  fit  for  a place  in  the 
empty  alcoves  of  the  grand  halls  in  our  new  State  House. 

I find  no  fault  with  the  librarians,  but  I do  with  the  leg- 
islators whose  niggardly  policy  has  brought  disgrace  upon 
the  state — has  put  us  in  the  rear  of  our  younger  sisters. 

Mr.  Dillon  was  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture in  the  years  1852,  1853,  1855,  1858 and  1859.  While 
he  did  not  pretend  to  an  extensive  or  thorough  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  or  of  any  of  its  branches,  he  made  a re- 
spectable and  efficient  secretary,  doing  much  to  further  the 
organization,  which  was,  at  the  beginning  of  his  official 
term,  in  its  infancy.  In  1851  he  was  appointed  by  Judge 
Test,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  which  position  he  held 
about  two  years,  the  balance  of  the  Judge’s  term. 


52 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


In  February,  in  the  year  1863,  Mr.  Dillon  was  appointed 
to  a clerkship  in  the  department  of  the  Interior,  and  ex- 
officio  Superintendent  of  Documents  and  Librarian,  and 
removed  to  the  City  of  Washington,  where  he  resided  the 
most  of  his  time,  until  the  spring  of  the  year  1875,  when 
he  returned  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death  on  the  27th  day  of  February,  1879. 

He  never  aspired  to  an  office  commensurate  in  its  pay 
and  emoluments  with  his  abilities,  but  accepted  such  posi- 
tions as  might  be  left  after  more  ambitious  and  less  capa- 
ble men  were  satisfied.  After  the  election  in  1866,  he  re- 
peatedly offered  to  resign  his  position  of  Superintendent 
of  Documents  and  Librarian  in  order  that  a soldier  might 
be  appointed  in  his  stead,  but  his  offer  was  refused.  At 
length,  in  March,  1871,  he  resigned,  having  been  sub- 
jected to  constant  annoyances  and  irritations  by  certain 
officers  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  who  desired  the 
place  for  the  purpose  of  patronage,  since  the  salary  had 
been  increased  to  $2,500  a year  by  the  exertions  of  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Dillon. 

He  was  appointed  Clerk  to  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  43d  Con- 
gress, and  held  the  office  two  years,  until  March,  1875,  do- 
ing  his  duty  faithfully  and  acceptably.  I can  personally 
attest  to  this  and  much  more  while  in  the  position. 

In  December,  in  the  year  1835,  he  became  a member  of 
this  society,  and  in  December,  1842,  was  elected  an  hon- 
orary member.  On  the  22d  of  January,  1848,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a member  of  the  executive  committee  and  elected 
librarian,  and  requested  to  deliver  the  next  annual  address. 
This  address  was  delivered  before  the  society  on  the  23d 
of  May,  1848,  the  subject  being  “The  National  Decline  of 
the  Miami  Indians.”  I find  that  it  was  highly  commended 
in  the  Cincinnati  Gazette . 

On  the  7th  of  October,  1873,  he  was  again  elected  secre- 


JOHN  B.  DILLON . 


53 


tary,  and  held  this  office  until  his  death.  Before  Mr.  Dil- 
lon became  the  librarian  quite  a large  collection  of  books, 
pamphlets,  maps  and  manuscripts  had  been  accumulated 
and  carefully  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  late  Henry  P.  Coburn.  When  Mr. 
Dillon  became  librarian  these  were  removed  to  the  State 
House  and  remained  in  his  sole  custody  until  1863, 
when,  receiving  an  appointment  as  a clerk  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  he  left  the  state,  remaining  absent 
until  the  year  1875,  when  he  returned  and  resumed  his 
residence  in  Indianapolis.  The  number  of  volumes,  docu- 
ments and  papers  in  this  collection  of  the  Historical  Society 
had  been  very  largely  increased  up  to  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture, and  the  library  had  been  placed  and  fitted  up  care- 
fully in  the  building  of  the  State  Bank.  Here  it  remained  for 
some  time,  and  until  the  affairs  of  the  Bank  of  the  State  and 
the  Sinking  Fund  were  closed.  When  the  building  was 
sold,  the  books  were  removed,  in  part,  to  the  State  House, 
and  a large  number,  with  the  papers,  manuscripts  and  docu- 
ments, scattered,  or  lost  or  stolen,  and  have  disappeared 
forever.  Mr.  Dillon  was  absent ; the  great  events  of  the 
war  absorbed  the  public  interest,  and  the  library,  which 
contained  many  valuable  treasures  and  curiosities,  had  no 
one  to  care  for  it  or  prevent  its  plunder  and  destruction.  It 
is  not  my  province  to  find  fault  or  attach  blame  to  any  one, 
but  I am  sure  that  this  lamentable  event  would  never  have 
occurred  had  Mr  Dillon  remained  in  Indianapolis. 

As  secretary  and  librarian  he  prepared  and  issued  many 
circulars  to  the  people  in  the  several  counties,  containing 
questions  bearing  upon  all  the  prominent  facts  in  the  his- 
tory of  different  important  localities.  Answers  had  been 
obtained  and  filed  away,  and  a large  amount  of  data  pre- 
served for  father  use.  This  has  been  stolen  or  destroyed  ; 
no  trace  of  it  remains.  He  is  the  author  of  the  queries 
which  are  found  in  the  county  histories  published  with  a 


54 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


large  bound  atlas  of  the  state,  in  the  year  1876  ; and  the 
answers  to  them  furnish  many  valuable  facts  for  this  work. 
The  loss  of  the  best  part  of  the  library  is  a disgraceful 
fact,  and  a cause  of  profound  regret  and  shame  to  every  one 
who  has  any  pride  in  the  history  and  character  of  our  state. 
It  can  never  be  replaced  or  restored  ; nothing  can  make 
amends  for  its  destruction.  A few  of  the  books  were  found 
in  the  State  House,  mingled  with  those  of  the  State  Library, 
and  form  a nucleus  for  a future  collection.  The  last  work 
of  his  life  was  the  gathering  and  re-arrangement  of  this 
fragmentary  collection  in  an  upper  room  of  the  Court 
House  some  ten  days  before  his  death. 

I have  casually  referred  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a genuine 
poet,  the  best  evidence  of  which  exists  in  a few  short 
poems,  familiar  to  all  of  our  people  ; perhaps  no  better 
lines  could  have  been  written  upon  the  subjects.  ‘‘The 
Burial  of  the  Beautiful  ” is  the  most  famous,  and  will  per- 
petuate his  memory  among  all  lovers  of  poetry.  He  was 
a man  of  strong  religious  convictions,  an  attendant  but 
not  a member  of  any  church  ; for  several  years  he  was  a 
Sunday-school  teacher,  as  many  men,  now  in  middle  life 
can  testify.  He  was  a student  of  the  bible,  but  never 
paraded  his  learning,  or  indulged  in  controversies  upon 
religious  beliefs.  These  he  regarded  as  best  illustrated 
in  practical  every-day  life,  and  surely  no  better  model 
was  ever  seen  by  his  associates  than  his  own. 

He  was  a man  of  hot  temper,  quick  to  resent  an  imputa- 
tion of  wrong,  and  often  impatient  of  a decided  contradic- 
tion, but  his  good  sense  and  benevolent  disposition  kept 
him  from  that  violence  which  seemed  occasionally  about 
to  be  exhibited.  I remember  on  one  occasion  to  have  gone 
with  him  to  the  Metropolitan  Church,  in  Washington, 
where,  at  the  end  of  the  services,  it  was  announced  that  a 
great  effort  would  then  and  there  be  made  to  rid  the  church  of 
debt  by  a collection  and  subscription.  Some  one,  who  was 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


55 


acting  for  the  church,  announced  that  the  audience  should 
remain  seated,  and  that  the  doors  were  locked  to  prevent 
exit.  Mr.  Dillon  jumped  up  in  great  wrath,  and  declared 
he  would  not  be  held  that  way,  and  he  would  go  out  at 
once.  What  he  said  was  heard  all  around  him,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  he  was  persuaded  to  sit  down  and 
remain.  He  was  as  tender-hearted  as  a girl,  and  full  of 
pity  and  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate,  who  never  appealed 
to  him  in  vain. 

He  led  a very  quiet  life,  withdrawing  more  and  more  into 
the  shadows  as  age  crept  on  him  and  as  his  vigor  vanished. 
He  lived  largely  alone,  having  never  married.  He  knew 
that  his  work  would  endure ; he  was  as  conscious  of  this 
as  is  the  builder  who  has  put  in  foundation  and  capstone 
of  granite  to  a material  structure.  He  had  no  profession 
but  letters,  and  in  the  solid  results  of  his  best  labors  neither 
money  nor  applause  added  to  his  satisfaction.  As  time 
rolls  by  his  labors  will  be  appreciated  ; the  scholars  of  the 
future  will  quote  him,  and  rely  upon  him,  and  no  library 
in  America  can  be  considered  complete  without  his  works. 

It  was  the  ambition  of  a great  writer  to  leave  a little 
volume  “ that  would  be  found  in  the  cottages  of  the  poor  ; 
to  be  spelled  over  at  evening  by  the  light  of  the  household 
lamp ; to  be  carried  about  and  recited  by  fragments  by 
neighbors  among  the  corn  and  blooming  grapes  ; to  pitch 
about  in  boats  with  the  cooking  utensils  of  the  fisherman  ; 
to  be  packed  with  the  loaf  of  black  bread  and  salt  olives 
in  the  canvas  bag  in.  which  the  shepherd  of  the  Alps 
carries  the  provision  of  his  solitude.”  Mr.  Billion’s  am- 
bition was  to  be  read  by  scholars,  by  statesmen,  by  his- 
torians, by  students  of  the  past.  It  was  not  for  popular 
applause.  It  was  to  preserve  forever  the  facts  of  our  early 
history  for  the  great  and  wise  and  good  of  all  coming 
generations. 


56 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


He  has  done  his  work  well.  He  lies  buried  at  Crown 
Hill,  where  friendly  hands  have  erected  a monument  to 
mark  his  last  resting  place.  But  that  is  not  his  true  mon- 
ument. He  built  that  himself.  It  will  endure  when  the 
stone  has  no  power  to  tell  its  tale. 

Mr.  Dillon  died  poor.  A few  dollars  remained  in  his 
pocket-book  after  his  decease.  His  administrator  found 
but  few  assets  upon  which  to  administer.  The  price  for 
his  last  literary  work  was  almost  exhausted  ; it  was  but 
a few  hundred  dollars.  His  estate  did  not  pay  his  debts 
in  full.  The  library  which  he  had  collected  had  gone 
book  by  book  to  the  second-hand  store,  and  his  treasures 
had  departed  from  their  shelves.  But  he  left  what  was 
better  than  lands,  or  gold,  or  rare  books,  or  choice  manu- 
scripts—a noble  example  of  integrity,  modesty,  industry, 
and  purity  of  character — the  light  of  a life  devoted  to 
study  for  useful  purposes,  that  will  never  be  willingly  put 
out  while  mankind  aspires  to  a more  exalted  and  perfect 
existence. 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


57 


NOTES  ON  JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


The  following  sketch  was  ’prepared  by  the  Hon.  Horace  P.  Biddle  and  was 
added  by  Gen.  Coburn  to  the  foregoing. 


I met  John  B.  Dillon  at  Logansport,  in  May,  1836,  but 
at  that  time  had  merely  a passing  acquaintance  with  him. 
In  October,  1839,  I became  a citizen  of  Logansport,  where 
I have  ever  since  resided,  and  soon  became  an  intimate 
acquaintance  and  confidential  friend  of  Mr.  Dillon.  He 
was  then  the  editor  of  the  Logansport  1 elegrafh.  Our 
intimacy,  friendship  and  confidence  remained  unshaken 
until  his  death,  in  1879;  ^ut  sensibility  was  so  acute 
and  his  modesty  «so  delicate,  that  I never  learned  much  of 
his  inner  personality,  nor  of  his  private  history — scarcely 
anything  from  himself.  In  1848  I met  and  became  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  L’Hommedieu,  of  Cincinnati,  the  ed- 
itor for  many  years  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazette.  Knowing 
that  I was  from  Logansport,  he  made  many  inquiries  of 
me  concerning  Mr.  Dillon.  He  had  known  Mr.  Dillon 
well  before  he  came  to  Logansport.  Mr.  L’Hommedieu 
told  me  that  Mr.  Dillon  was  a Virginian,  born  in  Brooke 
county  ; that  his  father,  while  he  was  yet  a child,  removed 
to  St.  Clairsville,  Belmont  county,  Ohio.  His  father  died 
while  John  was  a lad  of  nine  or  ten  years.  After  his 
father’s  death  John  went  to  Charleston — now  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  learned  the  art  of  printing.  That  he 
came  to  Cincinnati  in  1824,  and  was  then  seventeen  years 
old — this  would  place  the  birth  of  Mr.  Dillon  in  1807.  He 
obtained  work  on  the  Cincinnati  Gazette  as  a compositor. 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


58 

The  paper  I believe  was  then  edited  by  the  celebrated 
and  somewhat  eccentric  John  C.  Wright.  By  this  paper 
Mr.  Dillon’s  first  contributions  to  literature  were  made 
known  to  the  world.  He  afterwards  contributed  to  other 
newspapers  and  periodicals — The  Western  Souvenir , 
Flint's  Western  Review , and  in  1831  became  connected 
with  the  Cincinnati  Mirror , a literary  paper  of  high  ex- 
cellence. In  1834  Mr.  Dillon  came  to  Logansport  to  re- 
side, where,  as  I have  stated,  I first  became  acquainted 
with  him. 

Mr.  Dillon  was  an  attentive  and  general  reader,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  general  principles  of  juris- 
prudence. While  living  in  Logansport  he  turned  his  at- 
tention more  particularly  to  practical  law,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  ; but  the  practice  never  came.  Though 
he  possessed  one  of  the  finest  intellects  ever  endowed  upon 
man,  Mr.  Dillon  had  no  adaptability  to  the  business  affairs 
of  life.  All  he  desired  was  to  think  and  to  know;  he 
had  no  disposition  to  do  and  to  have.  He  delighted  in 
original  composition  in  belles  lettres , and  he  became  master 
of  a perfect  style  of  pure  English,  but  seemed  entirely 
careless  of  ulterior  results — whether  his  work  gained  him 
profit  or  reputation  or  not.  In  1842,  Mr.  Dillon,  in  con- 
nection with  Stanislaus  Lasselle,  published  a volume  en- 
titled “ Historical  Notes,”  though  Mr.  Lasselle  had  noth- 
ing whatever  to  do  with  its  composition.  This  volume 
formed  the  basis,  or  rather  nucleus,  of  his  “ History  of 
Indiana,”  published  in  1859 — a thorough  and  valuable 
work.  In  1845  Mr.  Dillon  was  elected  State  Librarian  of 
Indiana,  and  removed  from  Logansport  to  Indianapolis. 
Since  that  period  I have  known  less  of  the  particulars  of 
his  life. 

Mr.  Dillon  afterwards  wrote  and  prepared  for  publica- 
tion the  essential  part  of  a volume  entitled  “ Oddities  of 
Colonial  Legislation  in  America,”  a very  curious  book, 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


59 


which  shows  the  diligence  and  peculiar  research  of  the 
author.  Mr.  Dillon  died  before  the  work  was  completed.  * 
It  was  then  finished  by  Mr.  Ben.  Douglass  and  published 
by  Robert  Douglass,  of  Indianapolis. 

He  wrote  but  little  poetry  in  quantitv—perhaps  not  to 
exceed  a dozen  pages  in  all — but  in  quality  it  is  excellent. 

“ The  Burial  of  the  Beautiful,”  and  the  “ Orphan’s  Harp,” 
must  be  regarded  as  gems  amongst  the  literature  of  the 
English  language. 

In  person  he  was  peculiar.  Of  medium  height,  with  a 
fine  athletic  figure,  yet  his  hands  and  feet  were  clumsy 
and  quite  ungainly.  His  temperament  was  a blending 
of  the  nervous,  sanguine,  lymphatic.  His  head  was 
large  and  round,  covered  with  dark  hair.  His  forehead 
was  broad,  and  rose  abruptly,  with  scarcely  any  recession 
above  the  brows.  I think  no  one  ever  knew  the  color  of 
his  eyes.  He  had  a defect  of  vision  of  some  kind,  I think, 
from  a cataract,  and  always  wore  spectacles  with  large 
dark  side  glasses,  which  effectually  concealed  his  eyes 
except  from  a front  view,  and  then  they  were  very  dimly 
seen.  Familiar  as  we  were  for  so  many  years,  meeting  at 
all  hours  of  the  day,  under  all  circumstances — even  to 
bathing  in  the  river — I never  saw  his  face  without  his 
glasses  on,  which  he  always  wore  fastened  by  a little  cord 
around  the  back  of  his  head.  Nor  was  the  subject  of  his 
eyes,  his  vision  or  his  glasses  ever  mentioned  between  us 
during  our  long  acquaintance.  I have  been  told  by  those 
who  lodged  in  the  same  room  with  him  that  if  he  ever  took 
his  glasses  off  it  must  have  been  after  he  got  into  his  bed, 
and  if  so,  that  he  put  them  on  again  before  he  rose  from  his 
bed.  When  with  familiar  company  of  his  own  sex — as  in 
a room,  or  walking  abroad — if  he  had  occasion  to  adjust 
his  spectacles  he  always  turned  away  from  the  company.* 

*When  Mr.  Dillon’s  remains  were  being  prepared  for  burial  it  was 
observed  by  those  in  attendance  that  the  ball  of  his  left  eye  had  been 
broken,  apparently  by  a blow  of  some  kind,  and  partially  wasted  away. 


6o 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF 


His  general  demeanor  was  that  of  seriousness,  even  to 
sadness,  and  in  the  presence  of  strangers  extremely  shy 
and  diffident ; yet  with  his  familiar  friends,  over  a game 
of  chess,  a feast  of  anecdote,  or  at  our  athletic  exercises, 
he  was  often  mirthful,  and  sometimes,  indeed,  even  up- 
roarious. In  the  presence  of  ladies  he  was  always  em- 
barrassed, and  as  bashful  as  a swain  ; no  efforts  on  their 
part  to  put  him  at  his  ease  ever  seemed  to  succeed,  though 
no  man  was  ever  more  esteemed  by  pure  and  intelligent 
women  than  John  B.  Dillon. 

But  as  genial  and  amiable  as  Mr.  Dillon’s  character 
was,  there  was  a passion-power  within  him  that,  when 
thoroughly  roused,  was  intense.  The  following  incident, 
which  occurred  before  I knew  Mr.  Dillon  personally,  I 
have  often  heard  related  by  persons  who  witnessed  the 
scene.  It  was  upon  a public  occasion  connected  with 
politics.  Mr.  Dillon  had  become  one  of  the  objects  of 
some  excitement  in  relation  to  the  newspaper  which  he 
was  editing.  In  the  midst  of  a dense  crowd  he  received 
a blow  from  some  unknown  person.  It  aroused  his  Vir- 
ginia blood.  He  rushed  out  of  the  crowd  and  called  upon 
the  man  who  had  struck  him  to  come  out  and  meet  him 
face  to  face,  and  make  himself  known,  or  forever  wear  the 
brand  of  a coward.  His  passion  was  so  intense  and  so 
thoroughly  aroused,  that  it  did  not  subside  for  hours.  But 
no  one  took  up  the  gauntlet. 

Mr.  Dillon  was  very  fond  of  wit,  though  he  seldom  fired 
its  rocket.  He  was  so  alive  to  consequence  that  he  con- 
sidered too  long  ; but  to  discuss  a point  of  wit,  contrive  a 
conundrum,  or  a pun,  no  one  was  more  ingenious.  He 
seldom  played  practical  jokes,  though  on  one  occasion  he 
practiced  one,  not  anticipating  its  effects,  which  was  re- 
markably successful.  Mr.  Dillon  and  Mr.  George  Winter, 
the  well-known  artist  of  the  northwest,  were  sitting  with 
me  in  my  law  office  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1840.  It 


JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


6l 


was  a very  fine  day,  and  in  the  course  of  our  conversation 
the  first  day  of  April  was  mentioned.  “ Let  us  fool  some- 
body,” said  Mr.  Dillon  ; and  took  up  a pen  and  a narrow 
strip  of  paper,  and  wrote  on  it  the  following  notice,  I 
think,  literally  : 

“There  will  be  exhibited  at  the  court  house  this  even- 
ing a living  manthorp,  from  8 to  io  o’clock. 

“Sir  Roger  De  Coverly,  Manager.” 

He  took  a couple  of  wafers  with  him,  and  as  he  went  to 
the  hotel,  where  we  boarded,  stuck  the  notice  upon  a small 
bill-board  in  the  hotel  office.  At  dinner  there  was  much 
discussion  about  the  strange  animal.  During  the  after- 
noon the  young  gentlemen  of  the  town,  who  prided  them- 
selves on  their  learning,  several  of  the  clergymen  and 
some  of  the  lawyers  were  busy  studying  their  natural  his- 
tory, the  encyclopedias,  and  all  the  books  they  could  find, 
to  ascertain  what  the  new  creature  was.  The. word  man- 
thorp, is  really  a compound  of  two  Anglo-Saxon  words, 
meaning  “the  man  of  the  village,”  and  as  “Sir  Roger  De 
Coverly”  is  the  name  of  one  of  Mr.  Addison’s  amiable 
characters,  Mr.  Dillon  had  no  expectation  of  the  success 
of  the  joke  ; indeed,  he  was  mortified  at  the  result.  For 
a long  time  afterwards  Mr.  Dillon’s  “April  Fool”  was 
locally  a popular  anecdote. 

Mr.  L’Hommedieu,  upon  the  occasion  of  meeting  him 
in  Philadelphia  as  above  related,  while  we  were  ramb- 
ling along  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  related  to  me  the 
following  most  singular  and  sad  mischance  in  the  life  of 
Mr.. Dillon,  as  having  occurred  within  his  own  knowledge. 
While  Mr.  Dillon  was  a resident  of  Cincinnati,  some  busi- 
ness connected  with  his  correspondence  and  the  press  re- 
quired him  to  go  into  the  southern  part  of  Illinois.  At  the 
time  he  happened  to  be  there  a murder  was  committed  by 
some  unknown  person.  Excitement  ran  high,  of  course, 


6 2 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES  OF  JOHN  B.  DILLON. 


and  the  search  for  the  criminal  was  wildly  aimed  in  every 
direction.  Mr.  Dillon,  being  a stranger,  with  his  strange 
appearance,  retiring  and  taciturn  manner,  became  an  ob- 
ject of  suspicion,  and  he  was  actually  arrested  on  a charge 
of  murder,  and  held  in  confinement  until  he  could  commu- 
nicate with  his  friends  in  Cincinnati  and  effect  his  release 
upon  evidence. 

I never  heard  the  incident  from  any  other  source  than 
Mr.  L’Hommedieu’s  relation  of  it,  nor  have  I ever  men- 
tioned it  but  once  before  the  present  writing.  From  Mr. 
Dillon’s  peculiar  sensitiveness  I forbore  telling  the  circum- 
stances lest  it  might  enter  into  ears  connected  with  indis- 
creet lips,  and  become  a mortification  to  the  feelings  of  Mr. 
Dillon.  Of  course  the  mishap  could  not  affect  the  life-long 
purity  of  Mr.  Dillon’s  character. 


.INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


VOLUME  II.  NUMBER  3. 


The  Acquisition 

4 

OF 

LOUISIANA 


JUDGE  THOMAS  M.  COOLEY. 


INDIANAPOLIS  : 

THp  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

■ 1887. 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


[An  address  delivered  before  the  Indiana  Historical  Society,  February 

16,  1887.] 

No  theater  of  human  activity  has  been  more  prolific  of 
great  and  striking  events  and  changes  than  has  the  United 
States  of  America  since  independence  of  the  mother  coun- 
try was  secured.  And  of  these  events  three  stand  out 
specially  prominent,  because  of  their  having  affected  most 
profoundly  the  subsequent  history.  These  are  the  estab- 
lishment of  territorial  government  under  the  Ordinance  of 
1787,  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France.  The  first  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end  of  slavery  on  the  American  continent ; 
the  second  saved  the  American  States  from  anarchy  and 
laid  enduring  foundation  for  the  greatest  republic  known 
to  history  ; and  the  third  in  its  consequences,  increased 
beyond  expectation  or  prophecy  the  importance  of  both 
the  others,  and  gave  such  direction  to  the  subsequent 
thought  of  the  people  and  led  to  such  marshaling  of  polit- 
ical forces,  that  nearly  all  the  leading  events  of  later 
American  history  were  either  traceable  to  or  in  some  meas- 
ure shaped  or  determined  by  it. 

We  shall  spend  no  time  on  this  occasion  in  a considera- 
tion of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  so  peculiarly  interesting  to 
us  who  were  bred  under  its  protection  and  who  are  imme- 
diate inheritors  of  its  blessings.  Neither  shall  we  now 
discuss  the  great  event  which  made  us  a nation,  except  as 

(6S ) 


66 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


to  its  bearings  upon  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  to  which 
alone  at  this  time  attention  will  be  directed. 

The  discovery  of  the  western  continent  had  exposed  a 
new  world  of  wonderful  possibilities  to  the  grasp  of  the 
first  people  who  should  embrace  the  opportunity  to  seize 
upon  it.  Its  savage  inhabitants  were  neither  sufficiently 
numerous  fitly  to  possess  and  utilize  it,  nor  sufficiently 
skilled  to  be  able  to  defend  their  occupancy  ; and  the  na- 
tions of  Europe,  which  appropriated  to  themselves  the 
designation  of  civilized,  treated  the  country  as  derelict, 
and  therefore  as  falling  by  right  to  the  first  finder.  And 
then  began  the  great  race  in  colonization  and  settlement, 
which  continued  until  the  tremendous  impact  of  nation 
with  nation  in  Europe  loosened  the  hold  of  some  while  it 
seemed  to  tighten  the  grasp  of  others,  but  was  all  the  while 
preparing  the  way  for  that  reaction  of  America  upon  Europe 
which  before  long  gave  birth  to  the  French  Revolution, 
and  for  a generation  put  the  peace  and  industry  of  the 
world  at  the  mercy  of  a gifted  but  unscrupulous  advent- 
urer. 

French  and  Spanish  colonization  of  America  were  not 
more  remarkable  for  rapidity  and  extent  than  for  the  com- 
plete subjection  to  the  despotic  authority  which  then  con- 
trolled the  two  countries  respectively.  The  Spaniards, 
following  the  course  of  the  first  discoverer,  lost  no  time  in 
possessing  themselves  of  vast  but  indefinite  regions  in 
South  as  well  as  North  America,  while  the  French,  direct- 
ing their  course  farther  to  the  north,  entered  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  and  pushing  on  up  the  great  river  of  the 
same  name,  were  soon  exploring  the  vast  interior  beyond 
its  head  waters,  planting  here  and  there,  in  the  most  com- 
manding positions,  their  missions  and  their  trading  posts, 
until  at  length  the  Mississippi  was  reached* upon  which 
also  they  erected  the  cross  and  established  trading  sta- 
tions. Every  mission  and  trading  post  was  a military  sta- 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


tion  also,  and  the  whole  chain  of  posts  from  the  mouth 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  and  around  the  great  lakes  and  down 
the  Mississippi  was  subject  to  the  principle  of  absolute 
obedience  to  the  King  and  his  vicegerents,  and  the  whole 
structure  was  so  imposing  in  its  embodied  force,  and  so 
completely  and  immediately  available  for  either  aggress- 
ive or  defensive  warfare,  that  it  gave  to  France  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world  and  of  its  own  King  and  people  a grandeur 
and  apparent  strength  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  mea- 
ger settlement  that  had  been  made  under  the  French  flag, 
and  for  a long  time  enabled  the  French  colonial  power  to 
carry  on  a doubtful  struggle  with  the  far  stronger  but  less 
perfectly  united  and  controlled  colonies  planted  by  the 
English.  But  the  fall  of  Quebec  struck  a death  blow  to 
French  power  in  America,  and  by  the  treaty  of  Fontaine- 
bleau all  the  vast  region  claimed  by  the  French  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  island  of  Orleans  excepted,  was  sur- 
rendered finally  to  England.  When  a little  later  the  strug- 
gle came  between  England  and  her  colonies,  the  latter 
were  enabled  to  make  good  their  claim  to  all  the  ceded 
territory  south  and  west  of  the  great  lakes,  and  by  the 
treaty  of  peace  the  British. claim  was  relinquished  and  the 
few  military  posts  still  remaining  in  British  hands  were 
agreed  to  be  surrendered.  A vexatious  delay  afterwards 
occurred,  and  the  surrender  was  not  completed  until  after 
the  ratification  of  Jay’s  treaty,  but  the  whole  Northwest 
Territory  then  came  under  the  beneficent  provisions  of 
the  anti-slavery  ordinance  which  had  previously  been  put 
in  force. 

When  the  Constitution  was  adopted  there  was  abundant 
reason  for  believing  that  the  institution  of  slavery  would 
never,  in  the  United  States  rise  to  any  great  political  im- 
portahce.  The  public  conscience  was  not  then  very  sen- 
sitive to  its  wrongs,  but  enlightened  men  in  all  sections 
opposed  it,  and  the  opposition  was  nowhere  more  pro- 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

unced  than  in  Virginia,  whose  leading  statesmen  clear- 
ly perceived  its  political  and  social  evils.  The  pecuniary 
interest  in  it  was  then  small  as  compared  to  what  it  be- 
came a few  years  later ; and  had  not  the  condition  of 
things  greatly  changed,  it  must  in  time  have  peaceably 
passed  away,  without  shock  to  the  Constitutional  structure. 
But  when  the  new  cotton  machinery  had  made  that  crop 
the  most  valuable  of  American  staples,  new  and  unantici- 
pated strength  was  given  to  the  institution,  which  was 
wonderfully  augmented  by  the  purchase  of  that  vast  terri- 
tory then  vaguely  known  as  Louisiana.  Of  the  transcend- 
ent importance  of  that  event,  aside  from  the  expansion  of 
territory,  we  get  some  idea  when  we  reflect  that  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  the  Annexation  of  Texas,  the  Compro- 
mise of  1850,  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  the  Dred  Scott 
case,  and  at  length  the  civil  war,  were  events  in  regular 
sequence,  directly  traceable  to  it,  not  one  of  which  would 
have  occurred  without  it.  The  United  States  of  to-day 
stands  as  it  does  in  the  first  rank  of  nations,  strong  and 
self-centered,  and  without  threatening  diversity  of  interest 
among  the  states,  because  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1803,  without 
constitutional  justification  as  he  then  believed,  assumed  on 
behalf  of  the  Union  to  make  a purchase  of  foreign  terri- 
tory. The  purchase,  therefore,  stands  out  on  the  pages 
of  history  as  one  of  those  significant  and  mighty  events 
that  distinguish  the  epoch  of  occurrence  ; not  the  less  sig- 
nificant because  of  being  accomplished  peacefully,  and 
without  disturbing  the  social  and  industrial  state.  Events 
of  such  transcendent  importance  seldom  occur  except  as 
a result  of  bloodshed  and  disaster;  and  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  therefore  challenges  our  special  attention,  not 
merely  from  its  influence  upon  subsequent  events,  but 
from  its  unique  character.  We  may  well  give  a brief  hour 
to  an  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  which  led  up  tb  it, 
and  into  the  motives  under  the  influence  of  which  it  w&§ 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


69 


accomplished.  Possibly  as  we  do  so  we  may  be  conscious 
of  a doubt  whether  those  who  were  concerned  in  it  were 
aware  at  the  time  of  the  great  part  they  were  playing  in 
the  history  of  the  world. 

And  first,  a word  regarding  the  situation. 

Settlers  in  considerable  numbers  had  crossed  the  moun- 
tains into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  while  the  war  of  Inde- 
pendence was  in  progress.  With  most  of  them  a love  of 
adventure  rather  than  the  prospect  of  gain  was  the  motive  ; 

for  the  woods  were  full  of  hostile  Indians,  and  at  Detroit 

* 

the  British  Commandant  Hamilton,  with  subordinates  at 
Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia,  was  vigilant  and  relentless  in 
directing  the  savage  warfare  against  the  settlements  and 
keeping  them  in  constant  alarm.  But  the  country  was  of 
such  wonderful  fertility  as  to  make  it  quite  worth  the  nec- 
essary struggle ; and  settlement  not  only  went  on  while 
the  war  continued,  but  the  settlers  were  enabled  to  make 
their  hostile  measures  against  their  British  adversaries  so 
effective  that  when  peace  came  the  whole  valley  of  the 
Ohio  was  in  their  hands,  and  settlement  in  it  was  going 
oy^vith  constantly  increasing  rapidity. 

| At  once  it  became  a question  of  vital  importance  how 
[these  people  were  to  find  avenues  of  commerce  with  the 


outer  world.  There  was  no  natural  highway  to  the  east 
until  the  Potomac  or  the  lakes  should  be  reached,  and  the 
profitable  transportation  of  agricultural  or  forest  products 
x.  to  market  by  land  was  entirely  out  of  the  question.  jThe  , 
difficulty  was  so  obvious  and  apparently  so  insurmounta- 
ble that  the  people  of  the  eastern  states  very  generally  as- 
sumed that  the  great  interior  must  necessarily  be  settled 
slowly,  and  that  a generation  or  more  must  pass  away  be- 
fore^ts  commerce  could  be  of  .consider able  importance.  \ 
It  was  also  a prevalent  notion  that  the  spreaffbff-^putg^w 
tcwrTTverso  vast  a region  would  in  itself  constitute  a se- 
vere and  perhaps  fatal  te st  o f republica n mslffiufferrre: — Hts— 


yo 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


tory  it  was  said  did  not  warrant  the  belief  that  popular 
government  could  exist  for  any  considerable  period  except 
in  cities  and  small  districts  of  territory  ; and  when  Fisher 
Ames  said,  in  1791,  “Ages  must  elapse  before  our  western 
wilderness  will  be  peopled,  and  God  alone  knows  how  it 
can  be  governed,”  he  gave  expression  to  ideas  which 
were  common  in  political  circles  the  world  over.  There 
were,  nevertheless,  some  far-sighted  men  who  read  the 
immediate  future  more  accurately,  and  who  had  a faith  in 
the  strength  and  vigor  of  republican  institutions  which  was 
not  circumscribed  within  narrow  limits,  nor  disturbed  by 
the  lack  of  historical  precedents.  Among  the  most  confi- 
dent of  these  ,was  Washington,  who  had  from  the  first  ap- 
preciated the  value  of  the  West  to  the  Union,  and  who 
immediately  on  the  successful  termination  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  had  addressed  his  thoughts  to  the  subject  of  a 
highway  for  immigration  and  commerce  by  means  of  arti- 
ficial water  communication  connecting  the  Potomac  and 
the  Ohio.  But  his  attention  was  soon  drawn  away  to  pub- 
lic matters  of  more  immediate  interest,  and  the  projected 

Oal  was  postponed. 

mmigration  to  the  interior  must  cross  the  mountains  ; 
the  natural  highway  for  commerce  was  the  Mississippi 
river.  If  the  use  of  this  river  were  left  free,  nothing  better 
could  be  desired.  Unfortunately  it  was  not  free.  The  east 
bank  of  the  river  as  far  south  as  the  north  boundary  of 
Florida  was  the  property  of  the  United  States,  but  the  west 
bank,  together  with  the  island  of  Orleans,  was  held  by 
Spain,  i That  power,  while  conceding  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  as 
far  down  as  the  American  ownership  of  the  left  bank 
extended,  claimed  exclusive  jurisdiction  below  that  line, 
and  proposed  to  exact  customs  duties  from  such  American 
commerce  as  should  pass  in  or  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river. 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


71 


h 


This  pretension,  if  yielded  to,  would  place  all  that  com- 
merce at  the  mercy  of  Spain,  and  render  not  merely  the 
navigation  of  the  river  of  little  value^  jMit  the  very 
land  from  which  the  commerce  £prung«i  was  incon- 
ceivable that  such  pretensions  should  be  tolerated  if  suc- 
cessful resistance  were  possible,  but  the  settlers  were 
able  to  combat  it  on  two  grounds,  either  of  which  seemed, 
according  to  recognized  rules  of  international  law,  con- 
clusive.^ 

FirstlAs  citizens  of  the  country  owning  one  of  the 
banks  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  stream,  they  claimed 
the  free  navigation  to  the  sea,  with  the  privilege  of  a land- 
ing place  at  its  mouth  as  a natural  right ; and  they  were 
able  to  fortify  this  claim — if  it  needed  support — with  the 
opinions  of  publicists  of  acknowledged  authority. 

Second.  They  claimed  under  the  treaty  of  1763,  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  France,  whereby  the  latter,  then 
the  owner  of  Louisiana,  had  conceded  to  the  former  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  in  its  whole  breadth  and 
length,  with  passage  in  and  out  of  its  mouth,  subject  to 
the  payment  of  no  duty  whatsoever.  Whatsoever  rights 
Great  Britain  secured  by  this  treaty  were  secured  for  the 
advantage  of  the  people  who  were  to  enjoy  them,  and 
must,  therefore,  have  passed  with  the  transfer  of  dominion 
to  the  United  States  ; and  whatsoever  servitude  the  Spanish 
part  of  the  river  was  subject  to  when  held  by  France,  it 
must  be  subject  to  in  the  hands  of  th^  nation  to  which 
France  had  transferred  its  jurisdiction.^ 

Thus  both  in  natural  right  and  by  treaty  concession  the 
claim  of  the  American  settlers  seemed  incontrovertible, 
and  perhaps  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  whole  country 
agreed  in  this  view.  When  Mr.  Jay,  while  the  war  of  In- 
dependence was  still  in  progress,  was  sent  to  Spain  to 
negotiate  a treaty  of  amity  and  assistance,  he  was  spe- 
cially charged  with  the  duty  to  see  that  the  free  navigation 


72 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


of  the  Mississippi  was  conceded.  All  his  endeavors  to 
that  end,  however,  resulted  in  failure,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled'|tua-eturn  home  with  the  American  claim  still  dis- 
puted. 1785  the  negotiation  was  transferred  to  this 
countr}^fhd  Mr.  Jay  re^wed  his  effort  to  obtain  conces- 
sions, but  without  avad.\Jihe  tenacity  with  which  Spain 
held  to  its  claim  was  so  persistent  that  Congress,  in  its 
anxiety  to  obtain  a treaty  of  commerce,  finally  instructed 
Mr.  Jay,  on  its  behalf,  to  consent  that  for  twenty-five  years 
the  United  States  should  forbear  to  claim  the  right  in  dis- 
pute. The  instruction  was  given  by  the  vote  of  the  seven 
Northern  States  against  a united  South  ; and  the  action 
was  so  distinctly  sectional  as  to  threaten  the  stability  of 
the  Union.  The  southern  people  were  with  some  reason  ex- 
cited and  angry  ; and  the  charge  was  freely  made  that  the 
North,  to  secure  to  itself  commercial  advantages,  had 
ungenerously  and  unfairly  sacrificed  the  interests  of  the 
South  and  West.  There  was  enough  in  the  circumstances 
to  make  the  charge  seem  altogether  plausible  ; and  threats 
that  the  dissatisfied  people  would  take  redress  into  their 
own  hands,  regardless  of  treaty  stipulations,  were  freely 
indulged  in. 

In  the  West  the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  was  most  in- 
tense and  uncompromising.  The  settlers  of  Kentucky  al- 
ready deemed  themselves  sufficiently  numerous  and  pow- 
erful to  be  entitled  to  set  up  a state  government  of  their 
own,  and  to  have  a voice  in  the  councils  of  the  Confedera- 
tion. It  seemed  to  them,  therefore,  an  insult  as  well  as  an 
injury  when  their  right  to  the  use  of  their  great  national 
highway  was  thus,  and  as  they  believed,  on  selfish 
grounds,  put  aside  without  so  much  as  consulting  their 
wishes  or  their  interests.  To  waive  their  right  v/as  to 
check  their  prosperity  ; for  their  lands  without  it  were  of 
little  value,  and  accumulations  as  a result  of  their  k'/bors 
and  privations  would  be  entirely  out  of  the  question. 


‘THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


73 


From  that  time,  therefore,  the  movement  for  a state  gov- 
ernment was  accompanied  and  strengthened  by  a feeling 
that  the  settlers  beyond  the  mountains  were  treated  with 
neglect  and  contempt  by  the  dominant  majority  in  the 
Confederacy  ; so  that  the  influences  which  drew  the  set- 
tlers together  in  sentiment,  drew  them  at  the  same  time 
away  from  the  Union. 

In  Tennessee,  as  well  as  in  Kentucky,  settlements  had 
been  going  on  rapidly  ; and  perhaps  in  the  former  even 
more  distinctly  than  in  the  latter  a growing  indifference  to 
the  national  bond  was  manifest.  Serious  complaint  had 
been  made  by  the  settlers  when  North  Carolina  ceded  its 
western  lands  to  the  United  States  ; and  in  1784  their  dis- 
satisfaction rose  to  a height  that  impelled  them  to  revolu- 
tion. The  authority  of  the  parent  state  was  repudiated, 
and  the  settlers  organized  a state  of  their  own  which  they 
called  Franklin,  and  proceeded  to  give  it  officers  and  en- 
force their  jurisdiction.  The  likelihood  of  civil  war  was 
for  a time  threatening  ; but  this  strange  episode  of  a revo- 
lutionary state  peacefully  performing  its  functions  was  fi- 
nally after  four  years’  tolerance  brought  to  an  end,  and 
the  state  dismantled,  through  wise  measures  of  concilia- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  North  Carolina  authorities.f^But 
the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  with  Spanish  pretensions  re- 
mained and  continued  to  grow  in  intensity ; and  one  of 
the  difficult  questions  which  confronted  the  new  govern- 
ment, formed  under  the  Federal  Constitution,  was  how  to 
deal  with  this  feeling  and  control  or  remove  it.  Spanish 
levies  on  American  commerce  were  in  some  cases  almost 
prohibitory,  reaching  fifty  or  seventy-five  per  cent,  ad 
valorem  and  it  was  quite  out  of  the  question  that  hardy 
backwoodsmen  trained  to  arms  should  for  any  consider- 
able time  submit  to  pay  theftsTj  If  the  national  government 
failed  to  secure  their  rightly  diplomacy,  they  would  seek 
redress  in  such  other  way  as  might  be  open  to  them. 


74 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA*. 


Five  different  methods  of  redress  suggested  themselves 
to  different  minds;  and  Mr.  Martin,  the  historian  of 
Louisiana,  assures  us  that  parties  were  to  be  found  in  the 
-Bkst  who  advocated  each  of  them. 

/ i.  The  West  might  declare  its  separation  from  the 
Union  and  the  establishment  of  an  independent  republic, 
which  would  secure  protection,  and  at  the  same  time  ob- 
tain its  rights  in  the  Mississippi,  by  entering  into  a treaty 
of  alliance  and  commerce  with  Spain. 

2.  The  country  might,  with  the  consent  of  its  people, 
be  annexed  to  the  province  of  Louisiana,  and  Spanish 
laws  and  institutions  accepted  as  a lesser  evil  than  Federal 
neglect  with  existing  Spanish  oppressions. 

3.  War  might  be  made  upon  Spain,  and  New  Orleans 
and  West  Florida  seized  and  held  by  the  settlers  regard- 
less of  Federal  authority. 

4.  Congress  might  by  active  and  forcible  measures  com- 
pel Spain  to  yield  the  privileges  and  rights  which  had 
been  refused  to  negotiation. 

5.  The  settlers  might  place  themselves  under  the  pro- 
tection of  France  ; soliciting  her  to  procure  a retrocession 
of  Louisiana,  and  to  extend  her  protection  over  Kentucky 
and  the  Cumberland  settlements. 

But  while  all  these  various  remedies  suggested  them- 
selves to  the  minds  of  the  people,  it  can  be  safely  assumed 
that  a prevailing  sentiment  existed  in  favor  of  the  existing 
connection  with  the  Union,  and  that  redress  at  the  hands 
of  France»G£ Spain  was  looked  to  only  in  the  contingency 
that  any  other  was  found  to  be  impracticable^ 

Among  the  most  prominent  of  the  Kentue^^settlers  was 
General  James  Wilkinson,  who  had  gone  there  as  a mer- 
chant in  1784.  He  was  shortly  found  advocating,  though 
somewhat  covertly,  the  setting  up  of  an  independent  state 
government.  In  1787  he  opened  trade  with  New  Orleans, 
and  endeavored  to  impress  upon  the  Spanish  authorities 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


75 


the  importance  of  an  amicable  understanding  with  the  set- 
tlers in  the  Ohio  valley.  His  representations  for  a time 
had  considerable  effect,  and  the  trade  was  not  only  re- 
lieved of  oppressive  burdens,  but  Americans  were  invited 
to  make  settlements  within  Spanish  limits  in  Louisiana 
and  West  Florida.  A considerable  settlement  was  actu- 
ally made  at  New  Madrid  under  this  invitation.  But  there 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  genuine  good  feeling  inspired 
this  policy  ; the  purpose  plainly  in  view  was  to  build  up  a 
Spanish  party  among  the  American  settlers  and  eventual- 
ly to  detach  them  from  the  United  States.  But  the  course 
pursued  was  variable,  being  characterized  in  turn  by  lib- 
erality and  by  rigor.  Wilkinson  appears  to  have  been 
allowed  special  privileges  in  trade,  and  this,  together  with 
the  fact  that  he  was  known  to  receive  a heavy  remittance 
from  New  Orleans,  begat  a suspicion  that  he  was  under 
Spanish  pay  ; a suspicion  from  which  he  was  never  wholly 
relieved,  and  which  probably  to  some  extent  affected  the 
judgments  of  men  when  he  came  under  further  suspicion 
in  consequence  of  equivocal  relations  with  Aaron  Burr. 
In  1789  a British  emissary  made  his  appearance  in  Ken- 
tuckv,  whose  mission  seemed  to  be  to  sound  the  senti- 
ments  of  the  people  respecting  union  with  Canada.  He 
came  at  a bad  time  for  his  purposes  ; for  the  feeling  of  the 
country  against  Great  Britain  was  then  at  its  height,  and 
was  particularly  strong  in  the  West,  where  the  failure  to 
deliver  up  the  posts  within  American  limits  was  known  to 
have  been  influential  in  encouraging  Indian  hostilities. 
The  British  agent,  therefore,  met  with  anything  but  friend- 
ly reception,  and  found  it  for  his  interest  to  maintain  se- 
crecy as  far  as  possible,  and  to  take  speedy  departure. 
But  the  Spanish  authorities  continued  their  intrigues,  and 
in  1795,  Thomas  Powers,  an  Englishman  who  had  become 
a Spanish  subject,  and  Don  Manuel  Gayoso,  a brigadier- 
general  in  the  armies  of  Spain,  and  then  holding  the  office 


7<5 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


of  Governor  of  Natchez,  were  sent  on  a secret  mission  to 
the  disaffected  settlers.  What  was  done  by  them  was 
carefully  veiled  in  secrecy,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  men  in  high  position  were  ready  to  listen  to  their  ad- 
vances. But  the  putting  down  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Whisky  Insurrection  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  the  final 
defeat  of  the  Indians  by  General  Wayne  had  greatly 
strengthened  the  national  sentiment  and  made  treasonable 
plans  proportionately  more  dangerous  ; so  that  this  mission 
also  had  no  result.  Meantime  Spain  had  become  so  far 
complicated  in  European  wars  as  to  be  solicitous  regard- 
ing the  preservation  of  her  own  American  possessions, 
then  bordered  by  a hostileneople,  and  at  her  suggestion 
an  envoy  was  sent  by  thefUnited  States  to  Madrid,  with 
whom,  in  October,  1795,  a treaty  was  made  whereby, 
among  other  things,  it  was  agreed  that  Spain  should  per- 
mit the  people  of  the  United  States,  for  the  term  of  three 
years,  to  make  use  of  the  port  of  New  Orleans  as  a place 
of  deposit  for  their  produce  and  merchandise,  and  to  ex- 
port the  same  free  from  all  duty  or  charge  except  for  stor- 
age and  incidental  expenses^ f^t  the  end  of  the  three 
years  the  treaty  contemplated  further  negotiations,  and  it 
was  hoped  by  the  American  authorities  that  a decisive 
step  had  been  taken  towards  the  complete  recognition  of 
American  claims.  1 

The  treaty,  however,  was  far  from  satisfying  the  people 
of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  who  looked  upon  the  assent 
of  Spain  to  it  as  a mere  makeshift  for  the  protection  of  her 
territory  from  invasion  Projects  for  taking  forcible  pos- 
session of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  continued,  there- 
fore, to  be  agitated.  In  1798,  after  the  admission  of  Ten- 
nessee to  the  Union,  William  Blount,  one  of  its  senators, 
was  expelled  from  the  senate  on  the  charge  of  conspiring 
to  set  on  foot  an  expedition  against  the  Spanish-American 
possessions,  but  his  punishment  only  made  him  more  pop- 


THE  A CQ UISITION  OF  LO UISIA NA.  77 

ular  than  ever  in  his  own  state,  and  he  was  likely  to  be 
chosen  governor  as  a mark  of  their  approval  had  not  his 
death  occurred  before  the  time  of  election. 

It  is  evident  that  this  state  of  affairs  continually  boded 
mischief,  and  the  difficulty  of  preserving  friendly  relations 
with  Spain  was  greatly  increased  by  the  existence  of  Euro- 
pean wars  in  which  that  power  was  involved. 

The  schemes  of  Don  Francisco  de  Miranda  for  the  over- 
throw of  Spanish  authority  in  America  now  became  im- 
portant. Miranda  was  of  Spanish-American  birth,  and 
had  been  in  the  United  States  while  the  war  of  Independ- 
ence was  pending  and  formed  acquaintance  among  the 
American  officers.  Conceiving  the  idea  of  liberating  the 
Spanish  colonies,  he  sought  assistance  from  England  and 
Russia,  but  when  the  French  Revolution  occurred  he  en- 
listed in  the  French  service  and  for  a time  held  important 
military  positions.  Driven  from  France  in  1797  h 
up  his  old  scheme  again,  looking  now  to  E 
America  for  the  necessary  assistance.  S 
American  statesmen  were  approached  o 
Hamilton  among  them;  an^L  while  the 
France  and  the  United  States  se 
war,  that  great  man,?who 
from  the  extension  of  ter 
the  project  of  a doryffiined 
forces  on  the  Spanish -Col oi' 
ing,  with  the  a p/pro  val  of  t! 
take  part  i^it.  Presiden 
upon  the j«eme,  and  it  wa 
reluctan^BPabandoned. 

w occurred  an  even 
e of  the  United  States! 
ous  hold  upon  Louisiana, 

,nce.  The  country  thus  pass 
rong  one  : from  a people  to  w1 


/ 


78  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


would  be  comparatively  indifferent,  to  another  that  in  our 
extremity  had  been  our  friend  and  ally,  and  with  whom 
we  had  just  been  arranging  unpleasant  controversially!  d 


would  not  willingly  have  new  difficulties  opened  j ivir 
Jefferson  was  deeply  stirred  when  he  learned  of  it  and 
foreboded  only  evil  from  France  possessing  itself  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  He  immediately  addressed  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Livingston,  the  American  minister  at  Paris, 
in  which  in  strong  terms  he  expressed  his  anxiety.  The 
retrocession,  he  said,  “completely  reverses  all  the  political 
relations  of  the  United  States,  and  will  form  a new  epoch 
in  our  political  course.’’  “France,”  he  went  on  to  say, 
“we  have  ever  looked  to  as  our  natural  friend  ; as  one 
with  which  we  could  never  have  an  occasion  of  difference. ’’ 
But  France,  placing  herself  at  the  door  of  our  interior 
commerce,  “assumes  to  us  the  attitude  of  defiance.  Spain 
have  retained  it  quietly  for  years.  Her  pacific  dis- 
\er  feeble  state,  would  induce  her  to  increase  our 
so  that -her  possession  of  the  place  would 
dt  by  us/ and  it  would  not,  perhaps,  be  very 
circumstance  might  arise  which  might 
lit  to  us  The  price  of  somethi  ng  of 
;anTt  ever  be  in  the  hands 
|>V|*erY  teuiper,  the  energy 
;t£r,  pihtced  in  a point  of 
character,  which,  though 
pursuit  ofrxwealth,  is  high- 
competition  wdth  insult  and 
•getfc  as  any  nano  on  earth  ; 
it  impossible  that  ri^^nce  and 
ig  continue  friends  they 

ion.”  The  consequence  wm^ch 
ng  of  America  into  the  ai 
Jot  a state  of  things,”  he  sil 
t is  one  which  this  measure! 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


79 


adopted  by  France,  forces  on  us,  necessarily  as  any 
other  course,  by  the  laws  of  nature,  brings  on  its  nec- 
essary result.”  In  this  change  of  friends  America  will 
be  compelled  to  embark  in  the  first  war  of  Europe,  and 
“in  that  case  France  will  have  held  possession  of  New 
Orleans  during  the  interval  of  a peace,  long  or  short,  at 
the  end  of  which  it  would  be  vmested  from  her/]J| 

It  is  plain  from  this  letter  that  Jefferson  believed  an 
emergency  had  arisen  which  made  the  acquisition  of  Lou- 
isiana by  the  United  States  imperative.  The  country  in 
the  hands  of  France  made  that  power  our  continual  an- 
tagonist, and  almost  certain  enemy.  Our  oldest  friend 
and  ally  would  thus  be  lost  to  us,  though  her  interests  in 
other  respects  were  such  as  ought  to  insure  the  most  use- 
ful relations  and  the  most  amicable  intercourse.  But  while 
losing  F ranee  we shonkTat  the  same  time  be  thrown  intothe 
arms  of  our  old  enemy  England,  our  natural,  most  persist- 
ent and  unscrupulous  competitor  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 
England  it  might  be  assumed  would  not  hesitate  to  taTTe  any 
possible  advantage  of  the  situation  which  would  benefit  her- 
self, and  the  political  independence,  which  with  so  much 
expense  of  life  and  treasure  had  been  secured,  would  un- 
der such  circumstances  fail  to  establish  the  commercial  in- 
dependence which  was  necessary  to  make  it  of  much 
value.  And  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Mr.  Jefferson  contem- 
plated the  contingency  that  the  West,  irritated  by  the  fail- 
ure <|f  the  general  government  to  give  full  protection  to  a 
natural  right  of  transcendent  importance,  as  was  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi,  might  undertake  to  throw  off  its 
allegiance,  and  either  to  set  up  a government  of  its  own,  or 
6 become  a dependency  of  France  or  England.  The 
robability  of  such  an  attempt  was  not  so  great  as  if  had 
en  a few  years  before,  but  it  was  certain  that  while  the 
of  the  Mississippi  was  thus  held  by  a strong  and 
sive  power,  the  possession  must  constitute  to  some 


8o 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


extent  a menace  to  American  unity  as  it  did  also  to  Amer- 
ican commercial  independence. 

Mr.  Jefferson  with  his  partiality  for  France  could  be  ex- 
pected to  give  no  countenance  to  any  scheme  for  the  ac- 
quisition of  Louisiana  that  was  not  amicable,  or  that  did 
not  contemplate  fair  compensation.  But  a difficulty  here 
presented  itself  to  his  mind  which  at  first  blush  would  ap- 
pear insurmountable.  The  Constitution,  which  was  the 
measure  of  national  powers,  did  not  in  terms  confer  upon 
the  Federal  Government  the  power  to  acquire  foreign  ter- 
ritory. It  gave  to  Congress  the  power  to  make  regulations 
for  the  territory  and  other  property  of  the  United  States, 
but  the  territory  intended  was  evidently  that  which  then 
belonged  to  the  JJnion.  It  also  contemplated  the  admis- 
sion of  new  States  to  the  Union  ; but  this  also  had  in  view 
the  territory  then  possessed  by  the  United  States  and  the 
possible  division  of  it  into  new  states.  These  provisions 
had  therefore  abundant  subject-matter  on  which  to  operate 
without  looking  to  an  enlargement  of  the  bounds  of  the 
Union,  and  nothing  in  the  debates  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  indicated  an  expectation  on  the  part  of  its 
members  that  any  such  enlargement  would  take  place. 
Mr.  Jefferson  belonged  to  the  school  of  strict  construction, 
and  was  in  fact  its  leader  and  apostle.  He  had  found 
himself  in  opposition  to  the  administration  of  Washington 
on  some  very  important  measures  whose  constitutionality 
was  only  to  be  sustained  on  an  assumption  of  implied 
powers,  and  by  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Adams  he  had  been 
elevated  to  the  presidency  as  the  exponent  of  the  anti- 
federal  views.  But  under  a construction  of  the’Gonsiitu- 
tion  as  strict  as  he  had  been  insisting  upon,  it  was  plai 
that  the  government  would  have  no  power  to  acquire  for 
eign  territory  by  purchase,  and  that  any  attempt  in 
direction  would  be  usurpation. 

The  case  presented  then  was  one  in  which  som 


mi 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


\ 81 


important  to  the  peace  and  welfare,  perhaps  to  ^be  very 
perpetuation,  of  the  Union,  could  not  be  acccfTTbshed 
under  the  Constitution  because  the  necessary  potyer  bad 
not  been  conferred  upon  the  general  government-  f°r  the 
purpose.  ' To  give  the  necessary  authority  an  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  would  be  essential,  and  amendment 
would  be  a slow  process  which  might  not  be  acco  tnplished 
in  time  to  meet  the  emergency.  The  case  wouh$  be  com- 
plicated by  the  fact  that  if  the  territory  was  i icquired  a 
considerable  population  would  be  brought  into '-the  Union, 
and  thus  made  citizens  by  a process  of  nativ*rabzation  not 
contemplated  by  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Mar^son»  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  agreed  with  the  President  rA  bis  views.  To 
use  Mr.  Jefferson’s  words,  “The  Constitution  has  made  no 
|dsionfor  our  holding  foreign  territ  ory;  still  less  forincor- 
tg  foreign  Nations  into  our  U/nion.”  But  under  dr- 
agees so  imperative  he  thought  the  political  depart- 
ure government  should  meet  the  emergency  by 

ling  the  purchase  and  “then  appeal  to  the  nation 

for|NHPH9?&fial  article  in  the  Constitution  approving  and 
confirming  an  act  which  the  nation  had  not  previously  au- 
thorized.” He  did  not  conceal  from  himself,  however, 
that  in  so  doing  ground  would  be  occupied  which  it  would 
b^^ifficult  to  defend,  and  he  proceeds  to  say  : “The  less 
tn!Sis  said  about  any  constitutional  difficulty  the  better. 
Congress  should  do  what  is  necessary  in  silence.  I find 
but  one  opinion  as  to  the  necessity  of  shutting  up  the  Con- 
stitution for  some  time.”  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  held 
similar  views,  and,  as  he  says  in  his  diary,  “urged  the 
necessity  of  removing  as  speedily  as  possible  all  ques- 
tion^ on  the  subject.”  This  could  only  be  done  in  the 
mO'Je  proposed  by  Mr.  Jefferson ; that  is  to  say,  by 
amendment 

But  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  doctrine  more  dan- 
gerous or  more  distinctly  antagonistic  to  the  fundamental 


V 


82  ^ THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

ideas  ofVjie  American  Union  than  the  doctrine  that  the 
Constitution  may  be  “shut  up”  for  a time  in  order  that  the 
government  may  accomplish  something  not  warranted  by 
it.  ThL  political  immorality  was  obvious  and  glaring ; 
more  scX  in  the  case  of  the  apostle  of  strict  construction 
than  it  c\>uld  have  been  if  advanced  by  any  other  states- 
man of  t 'he  day.  But  by  whomsoever  advanced,  it  was 
intrinsically  demoralizing,  for  it  suggested  to  the  public 
mind  that*1  officers  deriving  all  their  authority  from  the  Con- 
stitution mv^ght  at  pleasure  set  it  aside  whenever  a support- 
ing majority  cjf  the  people  was  obtainable.  This  was  to 
put  the  temporary  majority  above  the  Constitution  ; to  de- 
prive that  instrument  of  all  restraining  and  conservati\  e 
force  ; to  make  th^Svofficial  oath  to  support  the  Constitutioi 
a meaningless  formaltUy  ; and  to  deprive  the  fundamr  " 
law  in  the  popular  as  w^ll  as  the  official  mind  of 
of  sanctity.  In  a monarchy,  the  “divinity  that  d' 
a king”  will  commonly  support  his  throne  witffi 
and  reverent  sentiment  of  lovnlty.  In  a re] 
ernment  a corresponding  sentiment  must  cone 
the  Constitution  as  the  true  representative  of  sovereignty, 
which,  because  it  is  such  representative,  is  to  be  with  un- 
hesitating and  patriotic  regard  held  sacred  and  inviolable. 
Such  a sentiment  when  it  exists  is  a vital  force  of- 
and  saving  power  in  the  government;  but  it  can  ^rovv 
up  only  when  the  Constitution  is  habitually  observed, 
and  when  it  is  seen  to  restrain  the  governing  majority  as 
it  does  those  who  for  the  time  constitute  the  smaller  and 
weaker  party.  Mr.  Jefferson,  therefore,  struck  a dangei- 
ous  blow  at  the  foundation  principles  of  the  government, 
and  offered  to  demagogues  who  should  come  after  him  a 
corrupting  and  dangerous  precedent,  when  he  proposed 
to  violate  the  Constitution  in  order  to  accomplish  an  object 
of  immediate  desire.  And  it  was  quite  immaterial  that  the 
object  to  be  accomplished  appeared  to  be  of  great  im- 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


83 


portance  and  urgency  ; party  measures  commonly  appear 
such  to  party  leaders,  and  the  plea  is  one  that  can  always 
be  advanced  and  will  be  found  as  available  in  one  case  as 
in  another  if  popular  support  can  be  gained  for  it. 

But  Mr.  Jefferson’s  political  mistake  was  scarcely  greater 
than  that  committed  by  his  opponents  : and  indeed  from  a 
party  standpoint  it  was  no  mistake  whatsoever,  but  a bold 
measure  of  wise  policy.  He  rightly  judged  that  the  pur- 
chase would  meet  with  popular  approval  and  would 
strengthen  his  administration  and  his  party.  If  this  proved 
to  be  the  case  the  political  wrong  would  be  condoned  by 
the  popular  voice  even  though  it  would  stand  as  a danger- 
ous precedent.  But  the  purchase,  according  to  the  Fed- 
eral view  of  the  Constitution,  was  perfectly  legitimate. 
That  instrument  had  given  to  the  Federal  Government 
complete  control  of  the  foreign  relations  of  the  states,  and 
ted  it  with  the  powers  of  sovereignty  in  respect  to  them 
ompletely  as  they  were  possessed  by  any  other  power 
the  globe.  If,  therefore,  any  other  power  might  ac- 
e territory  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  the  United  States 
3t  possess  the  competency  to  do  so.  This,  according 
to  the  Federal  construction  of  the  Constitution  was  clear 
and  unquestionable.  If  the  express  authority  were  not 
given,  the  power  was  nevertheless  to  be  implied  from  the 
complete  grant  of  sovereignty  in  respect  to  the  general 
subject : otherwise,  as  the  states  were  deprived  by*  the 
Constitution  of  all  participation  in  diplomatic  intercourse, 
the  extraordinary  spectacle  would  be  exhibited  of  a great 
nation  so  hampered  and  tied  up  by  its  internal  regulations 
that  in  no  emergency,  however  great  or  imperative,  could 
it  deal  with  another  for  the  acquisition  of  territory  ; for  a 
spot  even  for  a fortress,  or  a light-house,  or  for  an  indis- 
pensable passage  way.  This  was  at  war  with  the  doctrine 
which  the  Federalists  had  advocated  from  the  first.  Ac- 
cording to  their  construction  of  the  Constitution  the  gov- 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


§4 

ernment  had  been  invested  by  it  with  complete  powers  of 
sovereignty  over  all  the  subjects  entrusted  to  it,  except  as 
express  restrictions  were  imposed.  A Federalist,  there- 
fore, might  very  well  regard  with  satisfaction  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  since  it  could  only  be  lawfully  made  in  rec- 
ognition of  the  federal  doctrine  of  implied  national  pow- 
ers. He  might  also  be  pleased  with  it  because  it  must 
tend  greatly  to  strengthen  the  national  authority,  which 
had  been  an  important  object  of  federal  policy  from  the 
time  the  government  was  organized.  Mr.  Gouverneur 
Morris,  one  of  the  most  consistent  and  able  of  the  Feder- 
alist leaders,  saw  this  very  plainly,  and  gave  strong  ap- 
proval to  the  purchase.  Hamilton  saw  it  with  equal  dis- 
tinctness. He  had  never  had  any  fears  of  evils  to  spring 
from  territorial  expansion,  and  he  had  little  patience  with 
the  disposition  the  Federalist  now  exhibited  to  fall  back  on 
a strict  construction  of  the  Constitution  and  embarrass  t 
Government  with  scruples  as  to  power.  “It  will  ne^ 
do,”  he  said,  “to  carry  the  morals  of  a monk  into  thee 
inet  of  a statesman.”  No  doubt  he  agreed  in  the  view 
pressed  by  John  Quincy  Adams  a little  later,  that  the  p 
chase  was  “an  assumption  of  implied  powers  greater/  in 
itself,  and  more  comprehensive  in  its  consequences,  tpan 
all  the  assumptions  of  implied  powers  in  the  twelve  years 
of  the  Washington  and  Adams  administrations  put  to- 
gether.” But  this  was  of  no  moment  if  the  act  was  wise 
in  itself  and  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  and  of  the  wis- 
dom of  the  acquisition  he  took  the  same  broad  and  enlight- 
ened view  which  was  expressed  by  Franklin  to  Jay  in 
1794,  when  in  answer  to  a suggestion  that  we  should  con- 
cede to  Spain  its  claims,  he  said  : “I  would  rather  agree 
with  the  Spaniards  to  buy  at  a great  price  the  whole  of 
their  right  on  the  Mississippi,  than  sell  a drop  of  its  wa- 
ters. A neighbor  might  as  well  ask  me  to  sell  my  street 
door.” 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


85 


n 


The  purchase  was  accomplished  with  popular  approval. 
La  Fayette  justly  called  it  a “blessed  arrangement  for 
Louisiana,”  and  wrote  to  Edward  Livingston,  brother  to 
the  minister : “With  all  my  heart  I rejoice  with  you  on 
this  great  negotiation.”  But  the  Federalists  in  general 
took  harrow  and  partisan  views,  and  in  order  to  embarrass 
the  administration  resorted  to  quibbles  which  were  alto- 
gether unworthy  the  party  which  had  boasted  of  Washing- 
ton as  its  chief,  and  Hamilton  as  the  exponent  of  its  doc- 
trines. First,  they  questioned  the  validity  of  the  title 
whljch  France  assumed  to  convey,  and  which  they  claimed 
was;  hampered  by  conditions  in  the  Spanish  transfer  ; an 
objection  which  properly  belonged  to  Spain  herself  to 
raise  if  it  had  any  force.  Second,  they  objected  that  in 
the  .purchase  it  was  agreed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  ac- 
quired territory  should  be  clothed  with  the  rights  of  citi- 
zenship, whereas  the  Constitution  vested  the  power  to  nat- 
uralize exclusively  in  Congress.  But  if  the  power  to  ac- 
quire the  territory  existed  this  objection  was  without  merit, 
since  the  power  to  confer  citizenship  upon  the  people  must 

v — 

be  incidental.  Third,  they  complained  that  the  acquisi- 
tionAdded  greatly  to  the  presidential  patronage  ; the  last 
^ion  that  a Federalist,  anxious  to  strengthen  the  na- 
authority,  could  consistently  raise.  And  besides 
objections  which  were  mere  cavils,  they  claimed 
ie  boundaries  of  Louisiana  were  wholly  uncertain 
(defined,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  say  what  we 
[rchased.  This  last  objection  was  based  in  fact.  No 
one  could  say  what  was  the  southwest  boundary  of  the 
territory  acquired  ; whether  it  should  be  the  Sabine  or  the 
Rio  del  Norte ; and  a controversy  with  Spain  on  the  sub- 
ject might  at  any  time  arise.  The  northwest  boundary 
was  also  somewhat  vague  and  uncertain,  and  would  be 
open  to  controversy  with  Great  Britain.  That  the  territory 
extended  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  not  questioned, 


86 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


but  it  might  be  claimed  that  it  extended  to  the  Pacific. 
An  impression  that  it  did  so  extend  has  since  prevailed  in 
some  quarters,  and  in  some  public  papers  and  documents 
it  has  been  assumed  as  an  undoubted  fact.  But  neither 
Mr.  Jefferson  nor  the  French,  whose  right  he  purchased, 
ever  claimed  for  Louisiana  any  such  extent  and  our  title 
to  Oregon  has  been  safely  deduced  from  other  sources. 
Mr.  Jefferson  said  expressly,  “To  the  waters  of  the  Pa- 
cific, we  can  found  no  claim  in  right  of  Louisiana.” 

But  the  Federal  leaders  did  not  stop  at  cavils  ; they  in- 
sisted that  the  unconstitutional  extension  of  territory  ^vas 
in  effect  a dissolution  of  the  Union,  so  that  they  wer/e  at 
liberty  to  contemplate  and  plan  for  a final  disruption.  Mr. 
Timothy  Pickering,  Mr.  Roger  Griswold  and  Mr.  Joiiah 
Quincy  were  particularly  outspoken  in  this  regard.  They 
saw  in  this  vast  acquisition  of  western  territory  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  Federal  party,  the  triumph  of  demo- 
cratic ideas,  the  destruction  of  the  conservative  influence 
of  New  England  in  the  nation,  and  the  impoverishment  of 
their  section  by  the  transfer  of  population  and  enter 
to  the  west  and  south.  But  their  fears  were  as  extrava- 
gant as  their  policy  was  shortsighted  and  suicidal, 
in  their  own  section  of  the  Union  their  bitter  comi 
fell  on  deaf  ears,  and  the  blows  they  aimed  at  Mr. 
so*n,  while  failing  to  harm  him,  from  their  very  vicj 
recoiled  destructively  upon  the  party  they  assui 
lead.  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  President,- it  is  plain  to  bj 
now,  committed  some  serious  mistakes,  but  none 
so  great,  in  a party  point  of  view,  as  the  mistake 
Federalists  in  opposing  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana.  That 
party,  though  still,  for  a time,  possessing  considerable 
vitality,  was  never  again  able  to  make  hopeful  contest  for 
the  government  of  the  country.  From  1800  to  1814  its 
partyism  was  stronger  than  its  patriotism,  and  it  justly 
suffered  the  penalty. 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


87 

Briefly  now,  we  direct  attention  to  such  subsequent 
events  of  importance  as  connect  themselves  directly  with 
the  Louisiana  purchase. 

1.  When  the  purchase  was  accomplished  the  parties 
concerned  in  it  troubled  themselves  no  more  with  scruples 
respecting  the  want  of  constitutional  power.  The  pur- 
chase was  a finality,  and  if  made  without  authority,  it  was 
nevertheless  made  and  could  not  be  unmade.  A consti- 
tutional amendment  might  affirm  it,  but  it  needed  no 
affirmation  for  its  protection,  and  the  only  advantage  in 
having  one  would  be  to  quiet  doubts  and  remove  scruples. 
But  when  the  Federalists  came  to  make  profession  of 
scruples,  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  friends,  from  party  antago- 
nism, found  their  own  scruples  growing  weaker,  and  very 
soon  ceasing  to  trouble  them.  The  more  vigorously  the 
Federalists  cried  out  against  the  violation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  more  complaisant  the  Republicans  became,  and 
the  less  disposed  to  question  the  original  justification.  The 
annexation  of  the  territory  was  therefore  accepted  as  a 
legitimate  exercise  of  constitutional  authority,  and  it  set- 
tled for  all  time  the  question  of  power.  It  established  a 
precedent  which  was  certain  to  be  followed  whenever  oc- 
casion should  invite  it,  and  it  would  be  vain  to  contend 
that  the  Constitution  did  not  sanction  what  had  thus  with 
public  approval  been  so  successfully  accomplished. 

2.  The  purchase  also  tended  to  strengthen  very  greatly 
the  federal  power.  This*  was  not  merely  because  it  created 
new  offices  and  demanded  considerable  expenditure  of 
public  moneys,  but  also  because  it  constituted'an  exercise 
of  implied  powers,  most  important  in  their  nature,  by  the 
party  that  up  to  that  time  had  contended  against  them.  It 
was  vain  afterwards,  for  that  party  or  any  other,  to  con- 
tend that  the  federal  government  must  limit  itself  to  the 
powers  expressly  granted. 

In  theory  there  might  still  be  a party  of  strict  construe- 


88  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

tion,  but  it  was  certain  that  theory  would  easily  yield 
to  policy,  when  circumstances  appeared  to  justify  it,  and 
it  has  repeatedly  yielded  from  time  to  time,  from  that  day 
to  this. 

But  though  the  method  of  settlement  of  a constitutional 
question,  by  exercising  a power  which  the  actors  asserted 
had  no  constitutional  basis,  was  of  itself  indefensible,  the 
settlement  actually  made  was  just  and  right.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son’s scruples  on  the  subject  were  wholly  unwarranted. 

It  was  not  the  intention  in  forming  the  Constitution  that 
the  government  of  the  Union,  in  dealing  with  interna- 
tional questions,  should  have  any  less  than  the  same  com- 
plete authority  which  is  possessed  by  other  independent 
governments,  or  that  it  should  be  precluded  under  any 
circumstances  from  recognizing  and  acting  upon  such  mo- 
tives of  necessity  and  of  supreme  policy,  as  may  be  recog- 
nized and  acted  upon  by  others.  In  fact,  the  President’s 
scruples  were  born  of  party  contention  ; and  we  may  well 
believe  that  reflection  brought  to  his  mind  a conviction  of 
their  baseless  nature. 

3.  But  this  practical  settlement  of  the  question  of  con- 
stitutional power  did  not  heal  the  wound  the  Constitution 
received  when  the  chief  officer  holding  office  under  it  ad- 
vised the  temporary  putting  it  aside,  and  secured  the  ap- 
proval of  his  advice  by  a numerical  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

It  is  immaterial  that  as  we  look  back  upon  his  work  we 
can  see  that  what  he  did  was  not  ultra  vires;  the  poison  { 

was  in  the  doctrine  which  took  from  the  Constitution  all 
sacredness,  and  made  subject  to  the  will  and  caprice  of 
the  hour  that  which,  in  the  intent  of  the  founders,  was 
above  parties,  and  majorities  and  presidents,  and  con- 
gresses, and  was  meant  to  hold  them  all  in  close  subordi-  1 
nation.  After  that  time  the  proposal  to  exercise  unwar- 
ranted  powers  on  a plea  of  necessity  might  be  safely  ad-  j 

m 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA.  89 

vanced  without  exciting  the  detestation  it  deserved  ; and 
the  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  Constitution  was  so  far 
weakened  that  it  easily  gave  way  under  the  pressure  of 
political  expediency.  Very  few  persons  when  rebellion 
broke  out  were  restrained  from  engaging  in  it  by  rever- 
ence for  the  Constitution  , and  on  the  part  of  the  Union,  so 
long  as  hostilities  lasted,  usurpations,  by  military  and  civil 
officers,  were  popularly  justified  by  the  strange  paradox 
that  it  is  right  to  violate  the  Constitution  when  the  purpose 
is  to  save  it.  There  is  something  specious  about  such  a 
doctrine,  but  the  liberty  it  allows  might  satisfy  the  most 
reckless  fanatic  or  anarchist ; for  it  gives  unbridled  license, 
and  leaves  every  man  to  judge  for  himself  of  the  times  and 
occasions  when  he  will  elevate  his  own  discretion  above 
that  great  charter  of  national  unity,  which,  if  sacredly  pre- 
served and  defended,  will  make  the  freest  government  in 
the  world  the  strongest  and  most  conservative. 

4.  The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  gave  occasion  for  such 
contests  over  the  institution  of  slavery  as  at  several  pe- 
riods brought  the  Union  to  the  verge  of  disruption,  and  at 
last  led  to  civil  war.  From  the  first  there  was  a party 
which  contended  that  Louisiana  was  bought  to  give  room 
for  an  extension  of  slavery,  or,  that  if  that  was  not  the 
motive,  the  purchase  gave  the  opportunity  for  such  exten- 
sion, and  for  a predominating  influence  of  the  South  and 
West  in  the  Union.  The  admission  of  new  states  formed 
from  the  purchase  was  therefore  contested  on  the  ground 
that  the  original  acquisition,  being  unwarranted  by  the 
Constitution,  the  territory  could  not  be  considered  the 
property  of  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
new  states  from  it.  The  Hartford  Convention,  which  met 
in  the  most  gloomy  period  of  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain,  made  the  admission  of  new  states  in  the  West  one 
of  its  grounds  of  complaint  against  .the  general  govern- 
ment, an  absurd  complaint  if  the  purchase  of  Louisiana 


9° 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


was  justifiable.  But  the  more  serious  contention  arose 
when  the  State  of  Missouri  applied  for  admission  to  the 
Union,  with  a constitution  framed  to  perpetuate  slavery. 
The  alarm  which  this  created  was  aptly  compared  to  a fire 
bell  in  the  night-time,  which,  while  announcing  a real  ter- 
ror, excites  the  imagination  with  others  which  are  un- 
known and  indefinite,  and  for  that  very  reason  more  fear- 
ful. The  great  compromise  effected  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Clay  quieted  the  alarm  for  the  time,  but  it  did  so  at 
the  cost  of  a line  of  distinct  demarkation  between  free  and 
slave  territory  in  the  Great  West;  a line  which  constituted 
a perpetual  reminder  of  antagonistic  interests  and  for  that 
reason  was  in  it  itself  a standing  menace  to  unity.  The 
sentiment  of  patriotism  henceforward  gradually  took  on 
something  of  a sectional  character,  and  public  measures 
were  advocated,  or  antagonized,  according  as  it  was  sup- 
posed that  in  the  end  they  would  strengthen  or  weaken  a 
section. 

To  follow  in  detail  the  successive  events  which  were  al- 
luded  to  in  the  early  part  of  this  paper  would  be  to  rehearse 
a story  already  so  often  told  as  to  have  become  somewhat 
monotonous  and  tiresome.  The  acquisition  of  Texas  ; the 
war  with  Mexico  ; the  unexpected  results  of  that  war  in 
strengthening  the  free  rather  than  the  slave-holding  sec- 
tion of  the  Union ; the  advancement  of  the  doctrine  of 
squatter  sovereignty,  or,  as  Governor  Wise  of  Virginia 
aptly  phrased  it,  of  what  squatter  with  arms  in  his  hands 
shall  be  sovereign  ; the  compromise  of  1850  entered  into 
to  save  a Union  then  in  imminent  peril  of  disruption  ; the 
extra-judicial  declaration  of  the  Federal  Supreme  Court 
that  Congress  is  without  power  to  legislate  against  slavery 
in  the  territories  ; the  quasi  civil  war  in  Kansas,  which 
prepared  the  way  for  the  mighty  struggle  of  which  the 
gage  was  national  life  ; the  great  revolution  in  the  preva- 
lent system  of  labor  in  half  the  Union  : these  were  events 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


9l 

the  story  of  which  will  be  told  and  retold  “ to  the  last  syl- 
lable of  recorded  time  but  we  shall  not  dwell  upon  them 
here,  for  the  bitter  controversies  which  attended  still  ran- 
kle in  many  minds,  and  we  gladly  turn  away  from  them 
to  contemplate  with  patriotic  satisfaction  a Union  of  mighty 
states  purified  and  perfected  in  the  great  tribulation  which 
made  the  people  homogeneous. 

We  have  said  that  the  Ordinance  of  1787  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end  of  American  slavery.  In  the  great  North- 
west was  then  witnessed  the  first  triumph  over  that  mighty 
institution  recognized  at  the  time  alike  by  Christians,  Mo- 
hammedans and  heathen  ; and  which  inside  the  union  of 
states  antagonized  their  fundamental  principles.  We 
stand  here  on  historic  ground.  We  do  not  forget  that 
there  were  slaves  held  here  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  the 
country ; slaves  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  with 
France,  whereby  Canada  was  surrendered,  and  also  un- 
der the  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Brit- 
ain ; but  the  people  of  Indiana  and  of  the  country  at  large 
can  never  be  too  grateful  that  when  in  their  days  of  pio- 
neer hardship  the  early  settlers  asked  relief  from  the  pro- 
hibition of  bond  service,  a patriotic  Congress  denied  the 
request,  and  held  firmly  to  the  original  compact.  If  ever 
that  extraordinary  character,  John  Randolph,  exhibited 
qualities  of  true  statesmanship,  it  was  when,  resisting  all 
solicitations,  and  all  sectional  and  local  influences,  he  re- 
fused to  be  a party  to  the  suspension  of  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  and  declared  it  “ highly  dangerous  and  inexpedient 
to  impair  a provision  wisely  calculated  to  promote  the  hap- 
piness and  prosperity  of  the  Northwestern  country,  and  to 
give  strength  and  security  to  that  extensive  frontier.”  It 
was  well  said  by  him  in  addition  that  “ in  the  salutary  op- 
eration of  this  sagacious  and  benevolent  restraint  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  inhabitants  of  Indiana  will  at  no  very  dis- 
tant day  find  ample  remuneration  for  a temporary  priva- 


92 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


tion  of  labor  and  emigration.”  Ample  indeed  ! What 
the  people  asked  for  was  permission  to  build  into  the  struc- 
ture of  the  social  and  civil  state  an  insidious  evil  that  must 
inevitably  sap  the  energies  of  the  people  and  corrupt  the 
morals  of  society.  Randolph  forced  them  to  be  content 
with  a blessing,  when  in  their  blindness  they  would  will- 
ingly have  bound  themselves  to  a curse.  Possibly  the  ec- 
centric Virginian  who,  at  a later  day,  denounced  in  such 
severe  and  cutting  terms  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  may  have  already  perceived  the  great  truth  and 
rejoiced  in  knowing  that  freedom  once  securely  planted  in 
the  heart  of  the  country  must  in  time,  by  inherent  energy, 
expand  and  strengthen  and  subdue  and  possess,  until  from 
ocean  to  ocean  it  held  in  safe  embrace  the  continent. 

Thus  briefly  have  we  endeavored  to  picture  the  great 
event  which  so  vastly  expanded  the  territory  and  so  pro- 
foundly affected  the  destiny  of  the  republic.  Its  benefits 
to  the  country  have  been  too  great  and  too  numerous  to  be 
placed  before  the  mind  by  enumeration  or  estimate. 

In  congratulating  ourselves  upon  these  we  have  not 
thought  it  unwise  or  impertinent  to  emphasize  the  inciden- 
tal evils  which  may  spring  from  teaching  the  people  that 
the  fundamental  law  may  be  silenced  in  supposed  emer- 
gencies. If  there  be  any  peculiar  excellence  in  the  Amer- 
ican constitutional  system  it  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
the  tendencies  as  well  to  usurpation  as  to  license  are  held 
in  close  restraint  by  a law  that  never  ceases  to  give  effect- 
ive command,  and  upon  which  we  may  all  repose  in  trust 
and  confidence.  If  a great  political  party  may  excuse  the 
overriding  of  the  Constitution  for  one  purpose,  a riotous 
mob  may  do  so  for  another,  and  at  last  comes  the  anarch- 
ist, who,  perceiving  that  others  are  a law  unto  themselves, 
boldly  repudiates  all  law,  human  and  divine,  and  lays 
murderous  hands  upon  society  and  civilization.  It  is  of 
the  essence  of  freedom  that  sometimes  it  shall  breed  ex- 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  LOUISIANA. 


93 


cesses  ; but  if  curbed  by  a sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  Con- 
stitution, the  excesses  will  seldom  be  serious,  and  we  may 
justly  expect  that  the  great  republic  of  the  new  world  will 
yet  as  far  surpass  all  others  in  solidity  and  duration  as  it 
does  now  in  the  liberty  it  insures  to  its  people.  But  to 
render  certain  a result  so  beneficent  it  is  essential  that  we 
yield  to  the  Constitution  no  divided  allegiance,  and  that 
however  great  may  seem  to  be  any  existing  emergency, 
the  party  or  sectional  aims  that  are  involved  shall  be  sub- 
dued and  subordinated  to  the  higher  demands  of  a broad 
and  conservative  patriotism. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS, 


Volume  II. 


Number  4. 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 

AND 

PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE 


WITH  INTRODUCTORY  SKETCH. 


By  CHARLES  MARTINDALE. 


INDIANAPOLIS  : 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

1 888. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Upon  the  surrender  of  Post  Vincennes  to  Colonel  George 
Rogers  Clark,  February  24,  1779,  that  dauntless  warrior 
immediately  began  planning  a campaign  for  the  reduction 
of  Detroit.  He  says  : “Detroit  opened  full  in  our  view. 
In  the  fort  at  that  place  there  were  not  more  than  eighty 
men — a great  part  of  them  invalids — and  we  were  informed 
that  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  were  disaffected  to 
the  British  cause.  The  Indians  on  our  route  we  knew 
would  now,  more  than  ever,  be  cool  toward  the  English. 

* * * We  could  now  augment  our  forces  in  this  quarter 
to  about  four  hundred  men,  as  near  half  the  inhabitants  of 
Post  Vincennes  would  join  us.  Kentucky,  we  supposed, 
could  immediately  furnish  two  hundred  men,  as  there  was 
a certainty  of  receiving  a great  addition  of  settlers  in  the 
spring.  With  our  own  stores,  which  we  had  learned  were 
safe  on  their  passage,  added  to  those  of  the  British,1  there 
would  not  be  a single  article  wanting  for  an  expedition 
against  Detroit.  We  privately  resolved  to  embrace  the 
object  that  seemed  to  court  our  acceptance,  without  de- 
lay,  giving  the  enemy  no  time  to  recover  from  the  blows 
they  had  received  ; but  we  wished  it  to  become  the  object 
of  the  soldiery  and  the  inhabitants  before  we  should  say 
anything  about  it.”  * * * Early  in  the  month  of 


1 Three  boat  loads  of  goods  and  provisions,  about  $10,000  worth,  bad 
been  captured  by  a detachment  sent  up  the  Wabash  river  for  that  pur- 
pose on  the  day  after  the  surrender. 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


98 

March  1 laid  before  the  officers  my  plans  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  Detroit,  and  explained  the  almost  certainty  of  suc- 
cess, and  the  probability  of  keeping  possession  of  it  until 
we  could  receive  succor  from  the  States.  * * * In 

short,  the  enterprise  was  deferred  until  the  — of  June, 
when  our  troops  were  to  rendezvous  at  Post  Vincennes. ” 
But  when  the  appointed  time  came,  the  troops  sent  from 
Virginia  under  Colonel  Montgomery  numbered  only  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  and  from  Kentucky,  instead  of  three  hun- 
dred under  Colonel  JohnBowman,  there  camebutthirty  vol- 
unteers under  Captain  McGary.  Added  to  this,  the  paper 
money  with  which  the  expedition  was  supplied  had  so  de- 
preciated that  it  was  almost  valueless,  and  the  purchase  of 
provisions  was  impossible.  For  these  reasons  the  cam- 
paign was  deferred  for  the  present.1 

In  the  spring  of  1780,  after  correspondence  with  Gov- 
ernor Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  Colonel  Clark  began  to  col- 
lect stores  and  prepare  boats  at  the  Ohio  falls  for  the  ex- 
pedition against  Detroit.2  Much  was  hoped  for  in  Virginia 
from  the  favorable  disposition  of  the  Canadians  and  the 
prestige  which  the  successes  of  this  year  in  the  north  and 
south  had  given  to  the  Americans  among  the  Indians.3 
In  the  task  of  preparation  the  utmost  discouragements 
were  met.  In  the  fall  of  1780  there  was  great  distress  from 
lack  of  provisions  at  Fort  Jefferson  on  the  Mississippi  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  at  Kaskaskia  and  at  Vincennes. 
Dishonest  practices  by  agents  and  officers  were  wasting 
the  resources  of  the  State.  Disputes  as  to  authority  were 
rife.  Respect  and  confidence  in  Clark  seems  about  the 
only  thing  that  held  the  soldiery  in  anything  like  disci- 


1 Clark’s  MS.  Memoirs;  Dillon’s  Hist.  Ind.,  Chap.  xv. 

2 Virginia  State  Papers,  Vol.  1,  pp.  341-390. 

8 Id.  326. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


99 


pline.1  The  agents  of  the  government  were  distrusted  by 
the  people  and  their  drafts  on  the  treasury  taken  with 
much  reluctance.  Desertions  were  constantly  going  on.2 
Slow  progress  was  made,  and  in  the  meantime  the  Indians, 
who  were  held  in  friendly  relations  only  by  liberal  pres- 
ents, finding  the  supplies  cut  off  at  the  frontier  posts  and 
being  brought  over  to  the  interests  of  the  English,  began 
to  harry  the  out-lying  settlements.  In  December  of  1780 
Governor  Jefferson  issued  an  order  to  the  county  lieuten- 
ants of  the  frontier  counties  of  Virginia  levying  detach- 
ments from  the  militia  to  join  the  expedition  at  the  falls 
of  the  Ohio.  These  orders  aroused  the  most  stubborn  op- 
position from  the  people  of  those  counties,  and  protests 
were  made  from  Berkeley  and  Greenbrier  counties,  which 
set  forth  the  danger  to  their  inhabitants  from  Indian  in- 
cursions if  their  militia  were  further  weakened  by  detach- 
ments.3 The  militia  men  refused  to  obey  the  draft.  On 
January  18,  1781,  Colonel  Clark,  writing  to  the  Governor 
of  Virginia,  says:  “I  have  examined  your  proposed  in- 
structions. I don’t  recollect  of  anything  more  that  is  nec- 
essary except  the  mode  of  paying  the  expenses  of  the  gar- 
rison at  Detroit,  in  case  of  success,  as  supporting  our 
credit  among  strangers  may  be  attended  with  great  and 
good  consequences,  and  my  former  experiences  induce  me 
to  wish  it  to  be  the  case  where  I have  the  honor  to  com- 
mand. I would  also  observe  to  your  Excellency  that  I 
could  wish  to  set  out  on  this  expedition  free  from  any  re- 
luctance, which  I doubt  I can  not  do  without  a satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  treatment  of  the  Virginia  delegates  in 
Congress  to  me,  in  objecting  to  an  appointment  designed 


1 Letter  of  Richard  Winston  to  Colonel  Jno.  Todd,  Virginia  State  Pa- 
pers, Vol.  1,  p.  380;  Letter  of  Robert  George  to  Colonel  G.  R.  Clark,  Id., 
p.  382;  also  letter  of  John  Williams  and  Leo.  Helm. 

2 W. 383;  Id.  396. 

3 Virginia  State  Papers,  Vol.  1,  p.  461-468. 


IOO 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


for  me,  which  your  Excellency  can  not  be  a stranger  to. 
I could  wish  not  to  be  thought  to  solicit  promotion,  and 
that  my  duty  to  myself  did  not  oblige  me  to  transmit  these 
sentiments  to  you.  The  treatment  I have  generally  met 
with  from  this  State  hath  prejudiced  me  as  far  as  consist- 
ent in  her  interest  and  I wish  not  to  be  distrusted  in  the 
execution  of  her  order  by  any  continental  colonel  that  may 
be  in  the  countries  that  I have  business  in,  which  I doubt 
will  be  the  case,  although  the  orders  of  the  commander 
in  chief  is  very  positive.”1 

On  February  io  he  wrote  the  governor  of  Virginia, 
setting  forth  the  great  lack  of  arms  and  his  disappoint- 
ment at  the  want  of  men,2  and  he  received  from  Gov- 
ernor Jefferson  an  encouraging  letter  notifying  him  that 
he  had  obtained  leave  from  Baron  Steuben  for  Colonel  J. 
Gibson  to  attend  as  next  in  command,  and  that  with  Gen- 
eral Washington’s  recommendation,  he  hoped  to  have 
Colonel  Gibson’s  regiment  attached  to  Clark’s  command.3 
A letter  written  on  March  27  to  the  governor  of  Virginia 
contains  the  following  : “It’s  a very  alarming  circumstance 
to  me,  that  if  the  Frederick,  Berkeley  and  Hampshire 
militia  being  excused  from  the  western  service.  I make 
no  doubt  but  that  good  policy  might  require  it.  I sus- 
pected it,  but  six  or  seven  hundred  men  deducted  from  two 
thousand  is  very  considerable.  I shall  never  think  other- 
ways  than  that  the  militia  of  these  counties  would  have 
marched  with  cheerfulness,  had  they  not  been  encouraged 
to  the  contrary.  Colonel  Gibson’s  regiment  will  make 
some  amends,  but  far  from  filling  up  the  blank  ; perhaps 
we  may  do  it  by  volunteers  from  this  quarter.  I feel  the 
distress  of  my  country  and  shall  devote  myself  to  its  in- 


1 Id.,  p.  441. 

3 Id.,  p.  504. 

3 Id.,  p.  511. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


IOI 


terest.  * But,  sir,  if  any  misfortune  shall  happen,  I have 
the  consolation  to  hope  the  cause  will  not  be  misplaced. 
My  situation  is  truly  disagreeable ; the  most  daring  at- 
tempts would  be  agreeable  to  me  was  there  nothing  but 
death  to  fear.  But  more  I conceive  to  be  depending  at  pres- 
ent. To  be  flung  into  my  situation  by  a set  of  men  that 
are  not  honored  with  the  sentiments  of  a soldier,  is  truly 
disagreeable.  I hope  these  gents  alluded  to  will  live  to 
repent  of  their  conduct.  Conscious  of  the  rectitude  of 
the  orders  of  government  aggravate  the  guilt  of  these  per- 
sons, in  my  ideas,  and  can  not  refrain  from  giving  those, 
my  sentiments,  though  it  may  reflect  no  honor  to  me.’'1 

Colonel  Broadhead  refusing  to  allow  Colonel  Gibson’s 
regiment  to  be  detached  on  this  expedition,  Clark  wrote 
to  General  Washington  from  Fort  Pitt,  May  20,  1781, 
asking  explicit  orders  to  Colonel  Broadhead  to  this  end. 
In  his  letter  he  says:  “The  advantages  which  must  de- 
rive to  the  States  from  our  proving  successful  is  of  such 
importance  that  I think  deserved  greater  preparations  to 
insure  it.  But  I have  not  yet  lost  sight  of  Detroit. 
Nothing  seems  to  threaten  us  but  the  want  of  men.  But 
even  should  we  be  able  to  cut  our  way  through  the  Indians 
and  find  they  have  no  reinforcements  at  Detroit,  we  may 
probably  have  the  assurance  to  attack  it,  though  our  force 
be  much  less  than  proposed,  which  was  two  thousand,  as 
defeating  the  Indians  with  inconsiderable  loss  on  our  side 
would  almost  insure  our  success.  Should  this  be  the  case, 
a valuable  peace  will  probably  ensue.  But  on  the  con- 
trary, if  we  fall  through  in  our  present  plans  and  no  expe- 
dition should  take  place,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  conse- 
quences will  be  fatal  to  the  whole  frontier,  as  every  exer- 
tion will  be  made  by  the  British  party  to  harrass  them  as 
much  as  possible — disable  them  from  giving  any  succor  to 


1 Id-,  P-  597- 


102 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


our  eastern  or  southern  forces.  The  Indian  war  is  now  more 
general  than  ever.  Any  attempt  to  appease  them  will  be 
fruitless.”1 

Writing  to  the  governor  of  Virginia  under  date  of  May 
23,  he  says  : “The  Continental  officers  and  soldiers  of  this 
department,  to  a man,  is  anxious  for  the  expedition  sup- 
posed against  the  Indians.  The  country  in  general  wish- 
ing it  to  take  place.  But  too  few  think  of  going,  and  so 
great  a contrast  between  the  people  of  the  two  States  in 
this  quarter  that  no  method  can  be  taken  to  force  them  to 
war.  We  are  taking  every  step  in  our  power  to  raise  vol- 
unteers. What  number  we  shall  get  I can’t  guess.  I 
doubt  too  few.  The  disappointment  of  seven  hundred 
men  from  Berkeley  and  Hampshire  I am  afraid  is  too  great 
a stroke  to  recover,  as  in  fact,  the  greatest  part  of  this 
country  is  in  subordination  neither  to  Pennsylvania  nor 
Virginia.  General  Washington  informs  me  that  he  had 
received  information  that  Colonel  Connelly  had  left  New 
York  with  a design  to  make  a diversion  in  the  countries 
to  be  reinforced  by  Sir  John  Johnson  in  Kanady.  I doubt, 
sir,  if  we  shall  be  obliged  to  play  a desperate  game  this 
campaign.  If  we  had  the  two  thousand  men  first  proposed, 
such  intelligence  would  give  me  pleasure.  By  the  greatest 
exertions  and  your  timely  supplies  of  money,  we  have  the 
boats  and  provisions  expected  in  this  quarter  nearly  com- 
plete. I propose  to  leave  this  about  the  15th  of  June,  if 
we  can  imbody  a sufficient  number  of  men  by  that  time. 
I do  not  yet  despair  of  seeing  the  proposed  object  on  tol- 
erable terms,  although  our  circumstances  is  rather  gloomy. 
Colonel  Crockett  and  regiment  arrived  a few  days  past, 
who  informed  me  that  a company  or  two  of  volun- 
teers might  he  expected  from  Frederick  and  Berkeley.  I 


Virginia  State  Paper,  Vol.  2,  p.  108. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


10  3 

am  sorry  we  are  so  circumstanced  as  to  be  glad  to  receive 
them.”1 

It  became  apparent  by  August  ist,  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  raise  the  number  of  men  required  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  plans  against  Detroit.  Colonel  Clark  was 
greatly  disappointed,  and  wrote  from  Wheeling  to  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  August  4th,  saying: 

“I  make  no  doubt  but  it  was  alarm  to  you  that  I had  not 
left  this  country.  Whoever  undertakes  to  raise  an  army  in 
this  quarter  will  find  himself  disappointed,  except  the  law 
was  of  greater  force,  and  not  depending  on  the  wills  of 
the  populace.  This  country  calls  aloud  for  an  expedition, 
wishing  me  to  put  it  in  execution,  but  so  strangely  infat- 
uated that  all  methods  I have  been  able  to  pursue  will  not 
draw  them  into  the  field.  We  have  made  drafts  to  no  pur- 
pose. Governor  Reed  has  also  written  to  them  to  no  ef- 
fect. From  the  time  I found  I was  to  be  disappointed  in 
the  troops  ordered  by  the  government,  I began  to  suspect 
the  want  of  men  which  is  now  the  case  when  every  thing 
else  is  prepared.”  “I  could  not  get  Colonel  Gibsons  reg- 
iment, otherwise  I should  have  been  gone  long  since,  but 
had  to  make  up  the  deficiency  by  volunteers,  but  finding  no 
argument  are  sufficient,  I determined  to  quit  there,  leaving 
no  stone  unturned  by  which  they  might  hereafter  excuse 
themselves.” 

“To  save  the  garrison  of  Pittsburgh  from  being  evacu- 
ated, I have  been  obliged  to  spare  them  a considerable 
quantity  of  flour,  but  yet  have  enough  to  do  something 
clever  had  I men.  I have  relinquished  my  expectations 
relative  to  the  plans  heretofore  laid,  and  shall  drop  down 
the  river  with  what  men  I have,  amounting  to  about  four 
hundred,  consisting  of  Crockett’s  regiment,  Craig’s  artil- 
lery, volunteers,  etc.  If  I find  a prospect  of  completing 


1 Id.,  p.  1 17. 


L 0 UGHER  Y’S  DEFEA  T 


104 

my  forces  in  any  other  country  I shall  do  it,  and  make  my 
strokes  according  to  circumstances.  If  I find  it  out  of  my 
power  to  do  anything  of  importance,  I shall  dispose  of  the 
public  stores  to  the  greatest  advantage,  and  quit  all  further 
thoughts  of  enterprise  in  this  quarter.” 

“I  do  not  yet  condemn  myself  for  undertaking  the  ex- 
pedition against  Detroit.  I yet  think  had  I near  the  num- 
ber of  men  first  proposed,  should  have  carried  it.  I may 
yet  make  some  strokes  among  the  Indians  before  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  but  at  present  really  to  be  doubted. 
I have  been  at  so  much  pains  to  enable  us  to  prosecute  the 
first  plan,  that  the  disappointment  is  doubly  mortifying  to 
me,  and  I feel  for  the  dreadful  consequences  that  will 
ensue  throughout  the  frontier  if  nothing  is  done.  This 
country  already  begins  to  suspect  it,  and  to  invite  me  to 
execute  some  plans  of  their  own,  but  I shall  no  longer  trust 
them.”1 

A letter  by  Major  Croghan  to  Colonel  Wm.  Davis,  writ- 
ten at  Fort  Pitt,  August  18th,  gives  the  information  that, 
“a  few  days  ago  General  Clarke  set  out  from  this  country 
by  water,  with  about  four  hundred  men,  including  officers 
and  Colonel  Crockett’s  regiment,  flattering  himself  he  would 
be  joined  by  some  more  from  Kentucky  and  the  Falls  of 
Ohio,  abouthalf-way  between  this  and  the  falls.  The  general 
expected  1,500  men  from  this  part  of  the  country,  and  is 
much  chagrined  at  his  disappointment,  having  provision, 
ammunition,  artillery,  quartermaster’s  stores,  boats,  etc., 
sufficient  for  upwards  of  2, 000  men.  Had  the  country  people 
turned  out  and  gone  with  him,  I have  no  doubt  the  people  on 
this  side  the  mountain,  in  particular,  would  be  sensible  of 
the  advantage  they  must  reap  by  being  able  to  live  at  their 
plantations  without  the  dread  of  being  scalped,  which  is 
far  from  being  the  case  at  present,  few  days  passing  with- 
out the  Indians  doing  mischief  of  this  kind.” 


1 Virginia  State  Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  294. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE . 


io5 

“I  much  fear  the  general  will  be  disappointed  in  getting 
men  down  the  river  from  Kentucky  and  the  Falls.  If  so, 
the  State  is  thrown  into  an  infinity  of  expense  without  any 
advantage,  as  the  few  men  the  general  now  has  is  not  more 
than  might  be  necessary  to  guard  the  great  number  of 
boats,  stores,  etc.,  he  has  with  him.” 

“From  every  account  we  have,  the  Indians  are  prepar- 
ing to  receive  him,  and  if  they  should  attack  him  in  his 
present  situation,  either  by  land  or  water,  I dread  the  con- 
sequences. The  reason  so  few  went  with  him  from  this 
place,  is  owing  to  the  dispute  that  subsists  here  between 
the  Virginians  and  Pennsylvanians  respecting  the  true 
bounds  of  the  latter,  and  the  general  being  a Virginian 
was  opposed  by  the  most  noted  men  here  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania party.  The  people  here  blame  Virginia  very  much 
for  making  them  and  their  lands  (which  beyond  the 
shadow  of  a doubt  is  far  out  of  the  true  bounds  of  Penn- 
sylvania) over  to  Pennsylvania,  and  I am  assured  will 
never  be  content  until  the  true  bounds  of  Pennsylvania  is 
run.  Tis  true  they  are  going  to  run  what  they  call  a tem- 
porary boundary,  but  so  much  injustice  is  done  to  the  State 
of  Virginia  and  the  people  who  are  now  in  it,  and  by  this 
scandalous  imposition  will  be  forced  into  Pennsylvania, 
that  nothing  but  discord  will  reign  until  the  bounds  is  run 
agreeable  to  the  words  of  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania.”1 

It  had  been  given  out  that  this  expedition  was  against 
the  Indians  of  the  Northwest,  and  the  designs  on  Detroit 
were  kept  in  the  background,  but  nevertheless,  Brant,  the 
Indian  chief,  was  well  informed  as  to  its  purpose.2  It  was 
Clark’s  intention  to  proceed  up  the  Big  Miami  river  and 
first  attack  the  Shawnee  towns  on  that  river.  But  subse- 
quently he  changed  his  plans  and  decided  to  make  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio  his  base  of  operation. 


!Id.  345.  aLetter  to  Lord  George  Germain,  Appendix. 


io  6 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


Colonel  Archibald  Laughery,  or  Loughery,  was  the 
county  lieutenant  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  upon  Clark’s  requisition  he  raised  and  provided  with 
an  outfit,  principally  at  the  expense  of  himself  and  Cap- 
tain Robert  Orr,  a party  of  one  hundred  and  seven  mounted 
volunteers.  This  company  rendezvoused  at  Carnahan’s 
Block-house,  eleven  miles  west  of  Hannastown,  on  August 
2,  1781,  and  marched  by  way  of  Pittsburgh  to  Fort  Henry 
(Wheeling),  where  they  arrived  on  the  8th,  about  twelve 
hours  after  Colonel  Clark,  with  all  the  men,  boats  and 
stores  he  could  gather,  had  departed,  leaving  orders  for 
Colonel  Loughery  to  follow  and  overtake  him  at  the 
mouth  of  Little  Kanawha.  Several  days  were  consumed 
by  Colonel  Loughery  in  getting  started.  In  the  meantime 
Clark’s  men  began  to  desert.  Loughery  apprehended 
Lieutenant  Baker  and  sixteen  men  who  were  deserting 
from  Clark  at  Fishing  Creek.  To  prevent  desertion  Col- 
onel Clark  was  obliged  to  proceed  from  the  Kanawha, 
leaving  a letter  affixed  to  a pole  directing  Loughery  to  fol- 
low to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  Loughery’s  stores  and  for- 
age gave  out  at  this  point,  and  he  detached  Captain 
Shannon  with  seven  men  in  a small  boat  to  overtake 
Clark  and  secure  supplies.  This  detachment  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  when  the  Indians,  who  were  carefully  watch- 
ing the  expedition,  captured  Shannon  and  all  of  his  men 
but  two,  and  also  obtained  a letter  to  Colonel  Clark  de- 
tailing Loughery’s  situation.  Joseph  Brant,  with  one  hun- 
dred Indian  warriors,  lay  in  wait  to  attack  Clark  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Miami  river,  but  Clark  passed  in  the  night, 
and  the  Indians  being  afraid  of  the  cannon  and  the  num- 
ber of  men,  did  not  molest  him,  but  concluded  to  wait  for 
Loughery’s  party.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  placed  the 
prisoners  they  had  taken  in  a conspicuous  position  on  the 
north  shore  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  promised  to  spare  their 
lives  on  condition  that  they  would  hail  Loughery’s  party 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE.  107 

and  induce  them  to  land  and  surrender.  However  this 
may  have  been,  at  about  10  o’clock  on  August  24th, 
Loughery  having  reached  an  attractive  spot  about  ten 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami,  near  the  present 
town  of  Aurora,  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  landed  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio  river,  in  the  mouth  of  a creek  which 
has  since  been  called  Loughery’s  creek.  The  Ohio  river 
was  very  low,  and  a large  sandbar  extended  from  the  south 
almost  across  to  the  north  bank  of  the  river.  Colonel 
Loughery’s  party,  wearied  with  their  slow  and  laborious 
progress,  and  discouraged  by  the  failure  to  overtake  Clark’s 
army,  removed  their  horses  ashore  and  turned  them  loose 
to  feed,  while  some  of  the  men  cut  grass  sufficient  to  keep 
them  alive  until  they  should  reach  the  Falls.  A buffalo 
had  been  killed  and  all  were  engaged  in  preparing  a meal, 
when  the  Indians  appeared  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and 
began  firing  from  the  woods.  The  soldiers  seized  their 
arms  and  made  a defense  as  long  as  their  ammunition 
held  out.  An  attempt  was  made  to  escape  by  the  boats, 
but  they  were  so  unwieldy,  and  the  water  so  low,  that  the 
Indians  cut  them  off.  Unable  to  escape  or  defend  them- 
selves, Colonel  Loughery  surrendered.  Brant,  the  Indian 
chief,  says  thirty-six,  including  five  officers,  were  killed 
and  sixty-four  made  prisoners.  One  or  two  escaped,  but 
did  not  reach  home  for  several  months  afterward.  Lough- 
ery was  tomahawked  by  a Shawnee  Indian  after  the 
battle,  while  sitting  on  a log,  and  all  the  wounded  who 
were  unable  to  march  were  similarly  dispatched.  The 
prisoners  were  marched  eight  miles  up  the  Miami  river  to 
an  encampment,  where  the  Indians  were  joined  by  one 
hundred  white  men  under  command  of  Captain  Thomp- 
son and  three  hundred  Indians  under  Captain  McKee, 
both  British  officers.  All  of  the  British  and  Indians,  with 
Brant’s  band  of  warriors,  went  down  against  the  Ken- 
tucky settlements  as  far  as  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  leaving 


io8 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


a sergeant  and  eighteen  men  to  guard  the  prisoners.  No 
attack  was  made  on  Clark’s  army,  however.  The  pris- 
oners were  taken  to  Detroit  and  sent  from  there  to 
Montreal. 

The  disaster  to  Loughery  was  the  culmination  of  the 
misfortunes  of  this  ill-fated  expedition.  All  thought  of 
accomplishing  anything  more  than  the  destruction  of  the 
Indian  villages  was  abandoned.  Nothing  of  note  was 
done  until  the  fall  of  1782,  when  another  expedition  was 
organized,  and  moving  rapidly  from  Wheeling,  destroyed 
the  large  Shawnee  towns  on  the  Miami  and  the  British 
posts  as  far  north  as  Lake  Erie. 

Lieutenant  Isaac  Anderson,  who  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  Shannon’s  company,  after  the  capture  of  the  lat- 
ter, has  kept  a diary  of  the  expedition  from  the  start  at 
Carnahan’s  Block-house,  including  the  fight,  captivity  and 
his  wonderful  escape  from  Montreal  and  trip  through  the 
wilds  of  Maine,  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
to  his  home.  This  diary  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son 
Isaac  R.  Anderson,  who  resides  at  Venice  (Ross  P.  O.), 
Ohio,  and  the  diary  is  also  copied  in  McBride’s  history  of 
Butler  county,  Ohio. 

There  are  appended  here  two  accounts  of  the  Pigeon 
Roost  massacre,  which  seem  to  give  some  details  not 
found  in  Dillon’s  History  of  Indiana,  worthy  of  preser- 
vation. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


109 


THE  BRITISH  REPORT. 

Quebec,  23d  Oct.,  81. 

Lord  George  Germain  by  the  Fleet: 

My  Lord — I have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  your  Lord- 
ship  that,  by  a late  dispatch  from  Detroit,  I have  an  ac- 
count of  an  advantage  gained  by  Joseph  Brant  with  an 
hundred  Indians  over  a division  of  Colonel  Clark’s  army 
assembling  upon  the  Ohio  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  Indian  settlements,  and  if  successful  in  his  levies,  pen- 
etrating to  Detroit.  Joseph  having  intelligence  of  his 
motions,  waited  for  him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miamis  river, 
where  he  passed  in  the  night,  and  with  too  great  a force  for 
Joseph  to  attack  him,  but  the  next  day  he  fell  upon  a party 
of  100  men,  commanded  by  a Lieutenant  Colonel  Lockery, 
64  of  whom  he  made  prisoners  ; 36,  including  the  colonel 
and  five  other  officers,  were  killed.  A reinforcement  of  a 
company  of  rangers  and  a strong  body  of  Indians  pene- 
trate as  far  as  the  falls  in  hopes  of  pursuing  the  blow 
with  success,  but  Mr.  Clark’s  army  were  so  discouraged 
by  this  early  defeat  that  they  began  to  separate,  and  it  is 
supposed  have,  for  this  season,  abandoned  their  enterprize. 
Many  similar  Indian  parties  in  that  quarter  have  been  very 
successful,  and  some  considerable  strokes  have  been  made 
upon  the  Mohawk  river  and  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  vicinity  of  these,  and  the  perpetual  terror  and  losses 
of  the  inhabitants,  will  I hope  operate  powerfully  in  our 
favor  with  Vermont,  who  will  experience  the  happy 
effects  of  having  their  settlements  protected,  and  some 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  States  begin 


I IO 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


to  retire  there  for  safety.  It  would  be  endless  and 
difficult  to  enumerate  to  your  lordship  the  parties 
that  are  continually  employed  upon  the  back  settle- 
ments. From  the  Illinois  country  to  the  frontiers  of 
New  York  there  is  a continual  succession.  I must 
do  Colonel  Johnson  and  the  officers  who  have  the  di- 
rection of  this  service  the  justice  to  acquaint  your  lord- 
ships  that  the  families  I have  placed  upon  Carlton  Island, 
at  Niagara  and  Detroit,  with  a view  to  cultivation,  prom- 
ise fare  to  succeed,  and  I have  not  a doubt  will,  in  a very 
few  years,  materially  contribute  as  well  to  the  support 
as  to  the  convenience  of  those  posts. 

I am,  &c., 

[Signed.]  Fred.  Haldimand. 


AND  PIGEON  BOOST  MASSACRE. 


Ill 


DIARY  OF  CAPTAIN  ISAAC  ANDERSON. 

[Original  in  possession  of  I.  R.  Anderson,  Esq.,  Venice  (Ross  P.  O.),  O.j 

August  i,  1781.  We  met  at  Colonel  Carnahan’s  in  or- 
der to  form  a body  of  men  to  join  General  Clark  on  the 
expedition  against  the  Indians. 

Aug.  2.  Rendezvoused  at  said  place. 

Aug.  3.  Marched  under  command  of  Colonel  Lochery 
to  Maracle’s  mill  about  eighty  three  in  number. 

Aug.  4.  Crossed  the  Youghagania  river. 

Aug.  5.  Marched  to  Devor’s  ferry. 

Aug.  6.  To  Raccoon  settlement. 

Aug.  7.  Captain  Mason’s. 

Aug.  8.  To  Wheeling  Fort  and  found  Clark  was  started 
down  the  river  about  twelve  miles. 

Aug.  9.  Colonel  Lochery  sent  a quartermaster  and  of- 
ficer of  the  horse  after  him,  which  overtook  him  at  Middle 
Island  and  returned  ; then  started  with  all  our  foot  troops 
on  seven  boats,  and  our  horses  by  land  to  Grave  creek. 

Aug.  13.  Moved  down  to  Fishing  creek;  we  took  up 
Lieutenant  Baker  and  sixteen  men  deserting  from  General 
Clark  and  went  that  day  to  middle  of  Long  Beach,  where 
we  stayed  that  night. 

Aug.  15.  To  the  Three  Islands,  where  we  found  Major 
Craycraft  waiting  on  us  with  a horse  boat.  He,  with  his 
guard,  six  men,  started  that  night  after  General  Clark. 

Aug.  16.  Colonel  Lochery  detached  Captain  Shannon 
with  seven  men  and  a letter  after  General  Clark  and  we 
moved  that  day  to  the  Little  Connaway  (Kanawha)  with 
all  our  horses  on  board  the  boats. 


I 12 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


Aug.  17.  Two  men  went  out  to  hunt  who  never  re- 
turned to  us.  We  njoved  that  day  to  Buffalo  Island. 

Aug.  18.  To  Catfish  Island. 

Aug.  19.  To  Bare  Banks. 

Aug.  20.  We  met  with  two  of  Shannon’s  men  who  told 
us  they  had  put  to  shore  to  cook,  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Siotha  (Scioto)  where  Shannon  sent  them  and  a sergeant 
out  to  hunt.  When  they  had  got  about  half  a mile  in  the 
woods  they  heard  a number  of  guns  fire,  which  they  sup- 
posed to  be  Indians  firing  on  the  rest  of  the  party  and  they 
immediately  took  up  the  river  to  meet  us  ; but  unfortu- 
nately the  sergeant’s  knife  dropped  on  the  ground  and  it 
ran  directly  through  his  foot  and  he  died  of  the  wound  in 
a few  minutes.  We  sailed  all  night. 

Aug.  22.  We  moved  to  the  Two  Islands. 

Aug.  22.  To  Sassafras  bottom. 

Aug.  23.  Went  all  night  and  all  day. 

Aug.  24.  Colonel  Lochery  ordered  the  boats  to  land 
on  the  Indiana  shore,  about  ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Meyamee  (Miami)  river,  to  cook  provisions  and 
cut  grass  for  the  horses,  when  we  were  fired  on  by  a party 
of  Indians  from  the  bank.  We  took  to  our  boats  expecting 
to  cross  the  river,  and  were  fired  on  by  another  party  in 
a number  of  canoes  in  the  river  and  soon  we  became  a 
prey  to  them.  They  killed  the  colonel  and  a number  more 
after  they  were  prisoners.  The  number  of  our  killed  was 
about  forty.  They  marched  us  that  night  about  eight  miles 
up  the  river  and  encamped. 

Aug.  25.  We  marched  eight  miles  up  the  Meymee 
river  and  encamped. 

Aug.  26.  Lay  in  camp. 

Aug.  27.  The  party  that  took  us  was  joined  by  one  hun- 
dred white  men  under  the  command  of  Captain  Thomp- 
son and  three  hundred  Indians  under  the  command  of 
Captain  McKee. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


1 13 

Aug.  28.  The  whole  of  the  Indians  and  white  men  went 
down  against  the  settlements  of  Kentucky,  excepting  a 
sergeant  and  eighteen  men  which  were  left  to  take  care  ot 
sixteen  prisoners  and  stores  that  were  left  there.  We  lay 
there  until  the  15th  of  September. 

Sept.  15,  1781.  We  started  towards  the  Shawnee  towns 
on  our  way  to. Detroit. 

Sept.  19.  Arrived  at  Chillecothey,  where  the  Indians 
took  all  the  prisoners  from  Captain  Thompson  excepting 
six  of  us.  We  lay  there  until  the  26th. 

Sept.  26.  We  marched  to  Laremes. 

Sept.  27.  Over  the  carrying  place  to  the  Claize. 

Sept.  28.  To  the  Taway  village. 

Sept.  29.  Continued  our  march. 

Sept.  30.  Marched  all  day  through  swampy  ground. 

Oct.  1.  Arrived  at  Roche  de  Bout  and  rested  there 
eight  days. 

Oct.  4.  Captain  Thompson  marched  for  Detroit  and 
left  us  with  the  Mohawks  where  we  lay  until  the  8th. 

Oct.  8.  Started  in  a canoe  with  the  Indians  for  Detroit 
and  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  all  night. 

Oct.  9.  Got  to  Stony  Point,  half  way  to  Detroit,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Marne  (Maumee)  river. 

Oct.  10.  Got  to  the  spring  well,  four  miles  from  De- 
troit. 

Oct.  11.  Taken  into  Detroit  and  given  up  to  Major 
Arent  Schuyler  De  Pester,  who  confined  us  to  the  cita- 
del. 

Oct.  13.  Got  into  good  quarters  and  were  well  used  ; 
had  clothing  and  liberty  of  going  where  we  pleased  round 
the  town  until  the  fourth  of  November. 

Nov.  4.  We  went  on  board  the  sloop  Felicity  bound 
for  Niagara. 

Nov.  5.  Lay  at  anchor  in  Put-in-Bay. 

Nov.  6.  Likewise. 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


114 


7- 

8. 


Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov.  9. 
Nov.  10. 
Nov.  11. 
Nov.  12. 
Nov.  13. 
Nov.  14. 


Set  sail  with  a fair  wind. 

Wind  ahead. 

Sprung  the  mast  by  distress  of  weather. 

Very  stormy  weather,  lower  our  sails. 

Put  in  at  Presque  Isle  Bay. 

Lay  in  said  Harbor. 

Sailed  for  Fort  Erie. 

Went  to  Batteaux  to  Fort  Schlosser  one  mile 
above  Niagara  Falls. 

Nov.  15.  Went  over  the  carrying  place  to  Niagara 
Fort  and  put  on  board  the  Seneca. 

Nov.  16.  Set  sail  for  Carleton  Island. 

Nov.  17.  Arrived  at  said  place. 

Nov.  19.  Put  in  the  guard  house  at  said  place. 

Nov.  20.  Started  in  Batteaux  for  Montreal. 

Nov.  21.  Continued  on  our  journey. 

Nov.  22.  Lay  at  Oswegatchie. 

Nov.  23.  Crossed  the  Long  Saut. 

Nov.  24.  Arrived  at  Coteau  du  Lac. 

Nov.  25.  Crossed  the  Cascades  to  the  Isle  of  Berrot. 

Nov.  26.  Was  beat  by  wind  up  Chateaugay  Island. 

Nov.  27.  Crossed  Chateaugay  river  and  went  to  Caugh- 
nawaga,  an  Indian  village,  and  crossed  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence with  much  difficulty  and  lay  at  La  Chine  all  night. 

Nov.»  28.  Drew  provisions  and  were  insulted  by 
drunken  Indians  ; went  down  to  Montreal  and  were  de- 
livered to  General  Spike  who  put  us  in  close  confine- 
ment. 

Nov.  29.  Removed  to  the  long  house  in  St.  Marc  par- 
ish and  remained  there  until  May  26,  1782. 

May  26,  ’82.  Scaled  the  pickets  about  2 o’clock  in  the 
day  time,  and  crossed  the  river  at  Longueil  church  and 
got  into  the  woods  immediately,  and  steered  for  Sorrel 
river  ; crossed  it  that  night  and  went  into  a Frenchman’s 
barn,  and  killed  two  lambs  and  took  two  horses  and  rode 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE.  1 15 

all  night  till  day-break,  then  we  made  a halt,  skinned  and 
barbecued  the  lambs. 

May  27.  Started  with  our  horses,  got  them  about  five 
miles  and  were  obliged  to  turn  them  out  of  hand  on  ac- 
count of  swampy  ground  and  steered  an  east  course  all 
day,  and  came  to  the  river  Missisque,  crossed  it  on  a raft ; 
marched  about  two  miles  after  dark  and  encamped. 

May  28.  Marched  about  day-break.  Had  gone  one 
mile  when  we  heard  the  drums  beat  the  reveille  from  a 
block-house  on  said  river.  We  steered  that  day  southeast 
expecting  to  strike  Heason’s  road  but  found  it  not.  We 
encamped  that  night  on  a very  high  mountain. 

May  29.  Found  a large  quantity  of  snow  on  said 
mountain.  Crossed  the  river  Missisque  and  another  moun- 
tain that  day  and  encamped. 

May  30.  Crossed  three  mountains  and  camped. 

May  31.  Came  to  a level  country  and  crossed  four 
creeks,  one  very  difficult  to  cross,  that  emptied  into  Lake 
Memphremagog.  We  were  obliged  to  camp  on  bad 
ground  that  night,  and  our  provisions  were  done. 

June  1.  Our  provisions  being  done  we  were  obliged  to 
kill  our  dog  and  eat  him,  lost  our  compass  but  Providence 
favored  us  with  clear  weather  that  day  and  part  of  the  next. 
We  steered  our  old  course,  southeast  and  encamped. 

June  2.  Struck  a branch  of  the  Passumpsic  river  and 
kept  down  it,  and  in  the  evening  made  a raft,  expecting  to 
go  by  water,  but  was  disappointed  by  driftwood.  We  en- 
camped in  the  forks  of  said  river  all  night. 

June  3.  Kept  our  old  course  and  struck  an  east  branch 
of  saidriver.  We  kept  down  it  by  reason  of  dark  weather. 
We  encamped  that  night  on  dead  running  water. 

June  4.  Made  two  rafts  and  never  got  any  service  of 
them,  by  reason  of  rapid  running  water,  and  kept  our  old 
course  that  day  and  encamped. 

June  6.  Continued  our  march  and  struck  the  settlement 


LOTJGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


1 16 

of  Cohorse  on  said  river,  that  evening  at  one  Smith’s.  We 
came  down  the  Connecticut  that  night  and  crossed  below 
the  forks  where  we  staid  all  night. 

June  7.  Came  past  Ebr.  Willoughby  and  to  Richard 
Salmon’s  where  we  staid  all  night,  twelve  miles  from  where 
we  struck  the  settlement. 

June  8.  Came  to  Brigadier-General  Bayley’s  and  rested 
there  two  days. 

June  10.  Crossed  the  river  to  his  son’s,  Ephr.  Bayley’s, 
where  we  got  a pair  of  shoes,  and  went  to  James  Wood- 
ward’s, Esquire,  where  we  staid  all  night. 

June  11.  To  Captain  Ladd’s,  21  miles. 

June  12.  To  Colonel  Johnson’s,  two  miles. 

June  13.  To  Captain  Clement’s  on  our  way  to  Penny- 
suik,  11  miles. 

June  14.  To  Emerson’s,  Esquire,  21  miles. 

June  15.  To  Captain  Favor’s,  19  miles. 

June  16.  To  Colonel  Garrishe’s,  14  miles. 

June  17.  To  Colonel  Walker’s  in  Pennycuik,  12  miles, 
where  the  general  court  was.  There  we  made  application 
for  money  and  next  day  got  a little. 

June  18.  Went  to  Captain  Todd’s,  11  miles. 

June  19.  To  Captain  Walker’s  where  we  eat  dinner; 
and  left  the  Merrimac  river,  and  got  on  the  great  road  for 
Fishkill’s  to  headquarters,  and  staid  that  night  at  the 
sign  of  the  Lion,  30  miles. 

June  20.  To  Mr.  Holton’s,  four  miles  from  Lancaster 
in  the  Bay  State,  25  miles. 

June  21.  To  Worcester  and  from  there  to  Mr.  Ser- 
geant’s, where  we  staid  three  nights,  and  got  two  pairs 
of  trowsers  made. 

June  24.  To  Benj.  Cotten’s,  35  miles. 

June  25.  To  Springfield  and  crossed  the  Connecticut 
river  and  came  to  Mr.  Eansee’s  in  Connecticut  province, 
32  miles. 

June  26.  To  Mr.  Camp’s  in  Washington  town,  40  miles. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


1 17 

June  27.  Came  past  Bull’s  works  and  into  York  prov- 
ince to  Thos.  Storm’s,  Esq.,  where  we  lay  all  night. 

June  28.  Came  to  Fishkill’s  landing,  15  miles,  and 
crossed  the  North  river  to  Newburg  to  headquarters,  expect- 
ing to  get  a supply  of  money , but  his  Excellency  was  gone  up 
the  river  to  Albany,  and  we  could  not  obtain  any.  From 
thence  to  New  Windsor,  two  miles,  where  we  met  with  a 
friend,  but  no  acquaintance,  who  lent  us  money  to  carry 
us  to  Philadelphia,  which  was  a great  favor.  We  came 
that  night  to  John  Brouster’s,  11  miles. 

June  29.  To  Mr.  Snyder’s  tavern,  Jersey  province,  32 
miles. 

June  30.  Came  to  Hackettstown  and  came  to  Mr.  Has- 
let’s, 27  miles. 

July  1.  Through  Phillipsburg  and  from  there  we  crossed 
the  Delaware  river  at  Howell’s  ferry  and  got  into  Penn- 
sylvania to  Wm.  Bennett’s  in  Buck  county,  43  miles  and 
27  from  Philadelphia. 

July  2.  Came  to  Philadelphia,  27  miles,  and  stayed 
there  until  the  4th. 

July  4.  Started  for  Carlysle  about  3 o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon and  came  to  the  Sorrel  House,  13  miles. 

July  5.  To  Captain  Mason’s,  42  miles. 

July  6.  Came  through  Lancaster  and  from  thence  to 
Middletown  where  we  lay  all  night,  37  miles. 

July  7.  Crossed  the  Susquahanna  river  and  came  to 
Carlysle  about  I o’clock,  26  miles,  an  rested  three  nights. 

July  10.  Started  and  came  through  Shippensburg  to 
Captain  Thos.  Campbell’s,  36  miles. 

July  11.  Rested  at  said  Campbell’s. 

July  12.  To  Mr.  Welch’s,  about  5 miles.  • 

July  13.  To  crossing  Juniata,  28  miles. 

July  14.  Came  through  Bedford  to  Arthur  McGaugh- 
ey’s,  21  miles. 

July  15.  To  Loud’s  in  the  Glades,  32  miles. 

July  16.  To  Colonel  Campbell’s,  28  miles. 


n8 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


29th  Congress,  2d  Session.  Report  No.  30.  House  of  Representatives. 


ARCHIBALD  LOUGHERY. 


[To  accompany  Bill  House  of  Representatives,  No.  61 1.] 


January  20,  1847. 

Mr.  Blanchard  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands 
made  the  following 

report : 

The  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  claims  of  Jane  Thompson  and  Elizabeth  McBrier,  of 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  make  the  following 
report : 

That  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  on  the  second  day 
of  January,  1781,  yielded  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  benefit  of  said  States,  all  right,  title  and 
claim  which  the  said  commonwealth  had  to  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  subject  to  the  conditions  an- 
nexed to  the  said  act  of  cession  ; which  said  act  of  cession, 
with  the  conditions  annexed,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  accepted,  among  which  conditions  was  the  following  : 
“That  a quantity,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  promised  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  should 
be  allowed  and  granted  to  the  then  Colonel  (now  General) 
George  Rogers  Clark,  and  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
his  regiment  who  marched  with  him  when  the  posts  of  Kas- 
kaskiasand  St.  Vincents  were  reduced,  and  to  the  officers 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


ll9 

and  soldiers  that  have  since  been  incorporated  into  the  said 
regiment ; to  be  laid  off  in  one  tract,  the  length  of  which 
not  to  exceed  double  the  breadth,  in  such  place  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  Ohio,  as  a majority  of  the  officers 
shall  choose  ; and  to  be  afterwards  divided  among  the  said 
officers  and  men  in  due  proportion,  according  to  the  laws 
of  Virginia.” 

The  committee  further  report,  that  it  appears  by  the 
affidavits  of  credible  witnesses,  that  Colonel  Archibald 
Loughery,  father  of  the  above-named  claimants  (which 
affidavits  are  hereto  annexed  and  made  part  of  this  re- 
port), some  time  during  the  summer  of  1781  raised  several 
companies  of  volunteers,  of  which  he  was  chosen  com- 
mander, for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  forces  of  General 
George  Rogers  Clark  in  the  expedition  against  the  Mohawk 
and  Seneca  Indians,  inhabiting  the  country  now  belonging 
to  the  State  of  Ohio.  That,  in  August,  1781,  he  marched 
with  his  men  to  Wheeling,  Ohio,  expecting  to  join  the 
forces  under  said  General  Clark,  but  when  he  and  his  men 
arrived  at  Wheeling, they  found  General  Clark  had  left  that 
place  a few  days  before  they  arrived,  but  had  left  boats  for 
Colonel  Loughery  and  his  men  to  follow  them.  That 
they  took  the  boats  thus  left  for  them,  but  somewhere  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami  river,  Colonel  Loughery  and 
his  men  landed  to  cook  and  eat  some  food,  and  were  at- 
tacked by  a large  body  of  Indians,  and  the  said  Loughery 
and  a number  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  the  re- 
mainder taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians,  and  never  joined 
the  forces  under  General  Clark  as  was  intended. 

The  committee,  therefore,  report  that,  upon  the  above 
state  of  facts,  the  heirs  of  the  said  Colonel  Archibald 
Loughery  are  entitled  to  the  same  quantity  of  bounty  land 
as  if  their  father  had  actually  joined  the  forces  under  Gen- 
eral George  Rogers  Clark. 


120 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


Pennsylvania,  ) 

Westmoreland  County.  ) 

Personally  appeared  before  the  subscriber,  a justice  of 
the  peace  in  and  for  said  county,  James  Kean,  who  being 
duly  sworn  according  to  law,  upon  his  solemn  oath,  doth 
depose  and  say : That  sometime  in  the  summer  of  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty-one,  volunteers  were  raised  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of 
joining  an  expedition  at  that  time  making  against  the  Mo- 
hawk, Seneca,  and  other  tribes  of  Indians  ; that  said  vol- 
unteers were  to  march  in  the  country  now  composing  the 
State  of  Ohio;  that  the  companies  in  Westmoreland 
county  were  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Archibald 
Loughery,  and  were  composed  of  upwards  of  a hundred 
men  under  the  command  of  said  colonel.  This  deponent 
was  attached  to  a company  of  rangers  under  Captain 
Thomas  Stokely  ; that  they  had  volunteered  to  march  un- 
der the  command  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark  on  the 
expedition  ; that  Colonel  Loughery  marched  his  men  to 
Wheeling,  where  this  deponent  understood  they  were  to 
join  General  Clark.  On  the  arrival  of  the  troops  there, 
they  found  that  General  Clark  had  left  there  four  days  be- 
fore, but  had  left  four  or  five  boats  behind  to  carry  on 
Colonel  Loughery  and  his  men.  From  this  place  Colonel 
Loughery  sent  a messenger  (Richie  Wallace)  after  Gen- 
eral Clark  ; he  brought  word  that  Clark  would  wait  for 
them  at  the  mouth  of  some  creek,  the  name  of  which  is 
not  remembered  by  deponent.  Colonel  Loughery  and 
his  companies  embarked  in  the  boats  left  for  them  at 
Wheeling  by  General  Clark,  and  arrived  on  that  or  the 
next  day  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  On  their  way  down 
they  took  sixteen  deserters  from  the  troops  of  General 
Clark,  and  carried  them  along  back.  On  their  arrival  at 
the  creek,  they  found  General  Clark  and  his  troops  had 


I 2 I 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 

left.  Colonel  Loughery  then  proceeded  with  his  men  after 
Clark  in  the  boats.  On  the  21st  or  24th  of  August,  1781, 
they  landed  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  about  ten  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami  river,  for  the  purpose 
of  cooking  some  victuals  ; the  river  was  then  low  ; there 
was  a sand-bar  that  reached  into  the  river  from  the  south 
side.  As  they  were  kindling  their  fires,  the  Indians  com- 
menced an  attack  from  an  upper  bank.  Colonel  Lough- 
ery ordered  his  troops  to  the  boats,  to  pass  over  to  the 
sand-bar ; as  soon  as  they  embarked  and  commenced 
moving  over,  a large  body  of  Indians  rushed  from  the 
woods  on  the  bar,  and  prevented  a landing  or  making  an 
escape,  when  the  colonel  ordered  us  to  surrender.  There 
were  about  thirty  men  killed  in  the  fight  on  the  side  of  the 
whites.  Within  an  hour  or  two  after  the  fight  this  depo- 
nent understood  Colonel  Loughery  was  killed  by  a Shawnee 
Indian  as  he  was  sitting  on  a log ; deponent  within  that 
time  saw  the  scalp  of  the  colonel  in  the  hands  of  an  In- 
dian ; the  peculiar  color  of  the  hair  caused  deponent  to 
know  the  scalp. 

James  Kean,  his  x mark. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me  this  25th  August,  1843. 

W.  McWilliams. 

I do  certify  that  I am  acquainted  with  James  Kean,  the 
foregoing  deponent,  and  that  he  is  a man  of  credibility, 
and  that  full  credit  is  given  to  his  testimony  as  such. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal  this  25th  August,  1843. 

[L.  S.]  W.  McWilliams. 

State  of  Pennsylvania,  \ 

Westmoreland  County.  ) ss' 

I,  David  Fullwood,  prothonotary  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas  of  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  in  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  do  hereby  certify  that  W. 


122 


LOUGHERY’ S DEFEAT 


McWilliams,  Esq.,  before  whom  the  foregoing  deposition 
was  made,  and  whose  name,  in  his  own  proper  hand- 
writing, is  to  the  above  certificate  appended,  was  then, 
and  now  is,  an  acting  justice  of  peace  in  and  for  said 
county  of  Westmoreland,  duly  commissioned  and  ap- 
pointed, and  to  all  whose  official  acts  and  deeds  full  faith 
and  credit  are  of  right  due. 

In  testimony  whereof  I have  hereto  set  my 
hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said  court,  at 

[L.  S.]  Greensburg,  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  August,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  forty-three. 

David  Fullwood,  Prot. 

Pennsylvania,  ) 

7 / ss 

Butler  County. ) 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  a justice  of  the  peace 
in  and  for  the  county  of  Butler,  William  Christie,  and  after 
being  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposeth  and  saith 
that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  Colonel  Archibald 
Loughery,  of  Westmoreland  county,  and  his  wife  Mary, 
and  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  their  two  reputed 
daughters,  Jane  Loughery  and  Elizabeth  Loughery,  and 
that  said  Jane  was  married  to  Samuel  Thompson,  of  said 
county  of  Westmoreland,  and  that  Elizabeth  was  married 
to  David  McBrier,  of  the  same  county.  And  further 
saith  not.  William  Christie. 


Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  the  9th  day  of 
March,  1844. 


John  Brewster,  J P. 


I do  certify  that  I am  acquainted  with  William  Christie, 
the  foregoing  deponent,  and  that  he  is  a man  of  credi- 
bility, and  that  full  credit  is  given  to  his  testimony  as  such. 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE.  I23 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal,  this  the  9th  day  of 
March,  1844. 

[L.  S.]  John  Brewster,  J.  P. 

Butler  County,  ) 

State  of  Pennsylvania.  \ 55‘ 

I,  Jacob  Mechlin,  Jr.,  prothonotary  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas  in  and  for  the  county  of  Butler,  in  the  com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  do  by  these  presents,  certify 
that  John  Brewster,  Esq.,  before  whom  the  foregoing  cer- 
tificate was  taken,  and  who  has  thereunto,  in  his  own 
proper  handwriting,  subscribed  his  name,  was  at  the  time 
of  taking  such  certificate,  and  now  is,  an  acting  justice  of 
the  peace  in  and  for  the  said  county,  duly  commissioned 
and  sworn,  to  all  whose  acts,  as  such,  due  faith  and  credit 
are,  and  of  right  out  to  be,  given  throughout  the  United 
States  and  elsewhere. 

In  testimony  whereof  I have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said  court  of 

[L.S.]  Butler,  in  the  said  county,  this  the  9th  day  of 
March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-four. 

Attest:  Jacob  Mechlin,  Jr., 

Prothonotary. 

Pennsylvania,  ) 

Westmoreland  County.  \ ss ‘ 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  the  subscriber,  a justice 
of  the  peace  in  and  for  said  county,  James  Chambers,  who 
being  duly  sworn  according  to  law  upon  his  solemn  oath 
doth  depose  and  say:  that  I was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians  in  June,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  and 
taken  to  Detroit ; and  that  while  there  Ezekiel  Lewis,  with 


124 


LOUGHERY' S DEFEAT 


several  others,  were  brought  prisoners  to  Detroit,  and 
stated  to  said  deponent  that  they  had  been  taken  prison- 
ers with  Colonel  Archibald  Loughery  who  was  killed  by 
the  Indians.  Said  deponent  was  acquainted  with  Colonel 
Loughery,  and  his  family  consisted  of  a wife  and  two 
daughters — Jane,  who  was  afterward  married  to  Samuel 
Thompson,  since  deceased,  and  Elizabeth,  who  was  after- 
wards married  to  David  McBrier,  since  deceased — who 
now  reside  in  Washington  township, Westmoreland  county, 
and  State  of  Pennsylvania.  And  further  saith  not. 

James  Chambers. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  March  6,  1844. 

Alexander  Thompson. 

I do  certify  that  I am  acquainted  with  James  Chambers, 
the  foregoing  deponent,  and  that  he  is  a man  of  credibil- 
ity, and  that  full  credit  is  given  to  his  testimony  as  such. 
Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  this,  the  6th  day  of  March, 
A.  D.  1844. 

[L.  S.]  Alex.  Thompson. 

State  of  Pennsylvania,  ) 

7 > ss 

Westmoreland  County.  $ 

I,  David  Fullwood,  prothonotary  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas  for  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  in  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  do  hereby  certify  that  Alex- 
ander Thompson,  before  whom  the  foregoing  deposition 
was  made,  and  whose  name,  in  his  own  proper  handwrit- 
ing, is  to  the  within  certificate  appended,  was,  then,  and 
now  is,  an  acting  justice  of  the  peace  in  and  for  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  duly  commissioned  and  appointed,  and 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


12  5 

to  all  whose  official  acts  and  deeds  full  faith  and  credit  are 
of  right  due. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I have  hereunto 
set  my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said 
[L.  S.]  court  at  Greensburg,  the  fourteenth  day 
of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  forty-four. 

David  Fullwood, 

Prothonotary. 

Pennsylvania,  ) 

7 / ss 

Armstrong  County.  ) 

Personally  appeared  before  the  subscriber  a justice  of 
the  peace  in  and  for  said  county,  Ezekiel  Lewis,  a resident 
of  the  county  of  Armstrong,  Pennsylvania,  who  being  duly 
sworn  according  to  law,  upon  his  solemn  oath  doth  depose 
and  say  : That  sometime  in  the  summer  of  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-one,  volunteers  were  raised  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  an 
expedition  at  that  time  making  against  the  Mohawk,  Sen- 
eca, and  other  tribes  of  Indians  ; that  said  volunteers  were 
to  march  in  the  country  now  composing  the  State  of  Ohio  ; 
that  the  companies  in  Westmoreland  were  put  under  the 
command  of  Archibald  Loughery,  then  a resident  of  West- 
moreland county,  who  commanded  said  companies  as 
colonel,  and  was  received  and  acknowledged  by  them  as 
their  colonel  in  command  : the  troops  rendezvoused  on 
Sewekey  [Sewickley?]  or  Jacob  Swamps,  Westmoreland 
county.  Colonel  Loughery  had,  when  he  started  from  the 
place  of  rendezvous,  upwards  of  eighty  men  ; the  compa- 
nies composing  Colonel  Loughery’s  command  were  com- 
manded by  Captain  Robert  Orr  and  William  Campbell. 
I was  under  the  command  of  Captain  William  Campbell. 
Deponent  says  they  marched  from  the  place  of  rendezvous, 


126 


LOUGHERY’ S DEFEAT 


he  thinks,  to  McKeesport,  on  the  Monongahela  river  and 
descended  said  river  to  Pittsburg : Captain  Stockley 
joined  the  command  of  Colonel  Loughery,  some  place  be- 
fore we  got  to  Wheeling  (don’t  recollect  the  place  partic- 
ularly) ; from  Pittsburg  we  traveled  by  land  to  Wheeling, 
where  we  embarked  in  boats  and  started  down  the  Ohio 
river  to  join  General  Clark  ; in  one  or  two  days  we  stop- 
ped at  the  mouth  of  a creek  where  we  expected  to  meet 
General  Clark ; when  we  arrived  there,  General  Clark 
had  gone  on  down  the  river ; on  our  way  down  the  river 
we  took  some  deserters  from  General  Clark’s  command, 
and  carried  them  with  us  ; Colonel  Loughery  proceeded 
on  down  the  river,  intending  to  overtake  General  Clark, 
until  the  24th  of  August,  1781,  about  9 or  10  o’clock;  we 
landed  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio  for  the  purpose  ot 
cooking  breakfast ; we  had  killed  a buffalo  the  evening 
before  ; where  we  landed  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Miami.  As  we  were  kindling  the  fires,  the  Indians  com- 
menced an  attack  upon  us ; there  were  about  forty  of  the 
whites  killed,  and  the  rest  all  taken  prisoners,  together 
with  Colonel  Loughery  and  all  his  officers  ; in  about  two 
hours  after  we  were  taken,  one  of  the  Indians  tomahawked 
Colonel  Loughery  sitting  on  a log ; I saw  him  after  he 
was  killed,  and  his  scalp  was  taken  off ; deponent  saith  he 
had  been  intimately  acquainted  with  Colonel  Loughery  for 
some  years  before  the  time  of  the  campaign  spoken  of; 
knew  he  had  a wife  and  some  children ; does  not  know 
how  many.  And  further  saith  not. 

Ezekiel  Lewis. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  nth  March,  1844. 

John  R.  Johnston, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 

We  do  certify  that  we  have  been  intimately  acquainted 
with  Ezekiel  Lewis,  the  foregoing  deponent,  for  the  last 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


127 


twenty-five  years,  and  that  he  is  a man  of  truth  and  ve- 
racity, and  that  he  is  so  acknowledged  in  the  neighbor- 
hood in  which  he  was  raised  since  the  time  we  have  been 
acquainted  with  him. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  nth  March,  1844. 

John  R.  Johnston, 

[L.  S.]  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Robert  Orr. 

State  of  Pennsylvania,  ) ^ 

Armstrong  County.  $ 

I,  James  Douglass,  prothonotary  of  the  court  of  common 
please  in  and  for  said  county,  do  certify  that  John  R.  John- 
son, esquire,  before  whom  the  within  deposition  was  taken, 
was,  at  the  time  of  taking  the  same,  an  acting  justice  of 
the  peace  in  and  for  said  county,  duly  elected,  commis- 
sioned and  sworn,  to  all  of  whose  official  acts  as  such,  full 
faith  and  credit  are  due  and  of  right  ought  to  be  given,  as 
well  throughout  the  county  aforesaid  as  elsewhere  ; and 
that  his  signature  thereto  is  genuine  and  in  his  proper 
handwriting. 

In  testimony  whereof  I have  hereunto  set 
my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said  county  at 
[L.  S.]  Kittaning,  the  nth  day  of  march,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-four.  J.  Douglass,  Prothonotary. 

From  reports  of  Committees,  2d  Sess.,  29th  Cong.  No. 
3°‘ 

Same  report  and  affidavits  made  reports  Corns,  1st  Sess. 
35  Cong.,  Vol.  II,  289.  April  17,  1858.  [Bill  H.  R.  No. 

5°+-] 


128 


LOUGHERTS  DEFEAT 


AN  ACCOUNT 

OF 

PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


BY  JUDGE  I.  NAYLOR.* 

The  war  of  1812  forms  an  important  era  in  American 
history.  At  this  eventful  period  I lived  at  my  father’s 
home  in  Clark  county,  then  Indiana  Territory,  near 
Charlestown,  three  miles  from  the  Ohio  river.  Many 
of  the  citizens  of  this  county  having  served  as  volunteers 
under  General  Harrison  on  the  Tippecanoe  campaign,  a 
few  months  prior  to  the  declaration  of  war,  had  imbibed  a 
spirit  of  military  enthusiasm,  and  were  animated  by  feel- 
ings of  hostility  towards  Great  Britain  and  her  savage 


*Isaac  Naylor  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  in  1790.  He 
was  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Naylor  of  an  excellent  family  on  both 
sides.  His  mother  was  the  only  sister  of  James,  John  and  Charles  Beggs, 
who  were  prominent  in  Indiana  Territorial  and  State  affairs.  His  par- 
ents moved  to  Charlestown,  Indiana,  when  he  was  still  a child.  In  1817 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was  in  the  militia  service  of  the  Indiana 
Territory  from  1813  to  1814  inclusive,  and  fought  at  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe. In  1826  he  married  Catherine  Anderson,  daughter  of  Captain 
Robert  Anderson  of  Revolutionary  fame.  He  moved  to  Crawfordsville  in 
1833,  and  was  in  1837  elected  judge  of  the  twelfth  circuit,  and  served  until 
1852.  In  i860  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  retir- 
ing to  private  life  in  1868.  He  died  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  April  26. 

i873* 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


129 


allies.  They  had  hailed  the  “Declaration  of  War”  as  a sec- 
ond “Declaration  of  Independence,”  and  had  manifested 
their  approbation  of  this  act  of  the  National  Legislature 
by  rejoicing  and  illuminations. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings  and  this  spirit  of 
military  ardor,  in  the  latter  part  of  August  a company  of 
mounted  riflemen,  commanded  by  Captain  Pittman, 
marched  to  Vincennes  for  the  defense  of  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  Territory. 

About  this  time  we  learned  that  General  Hull  had  disgrace- 
fully surrendered  his  gallant  army  to  the  British  general  as 
prisoners  of  war.  The  news  of  this  event  passed  through 
the  Territory  like  an  electric  shock,  inspiring  all  with  fear- 
ful forebodings  of  Indian  depredations  and  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  the  inhabitants  along  the  line  of  our  frontier. 

Our  anticipations  of  impending  evil  were  soon  realized. 
A simultaneous  attack  was  made  by  the  Indians  at  many 
points  of  our  frontier  settlements.  At  sunset,  about  the 
first  of  August,  some  eight  or  ten  Indians  made  an  attack 
on  what  was  called  the  Pigeon  Roost  settlement,  fifteen 
miles  from  Charlestown,  and  in  one  brief  hour  killed  about 
twenty-three  persons,  including  men,  women  and  children, 
some  of  whom  were  consumed  in  their  homes  where  they 
were  murdered.  But  one  house  was  successfully  defended. 
This  was  the  house  of  Mr.  Codings,  the  father  of  Zebulon 
Codings,  Esq.,  who  has  written  a more  specific  and  en- 
larged account  of  this  massacre. 

One  of  the  sons  of  Mr.  Codings  was  at  work  in  a field, 
and  was  mortally  wounded  before  he  could  reach  his  fath- 
er’s dwelling.  He  was  found  in  a day  or  two  in  a flax 
house,  and  died  shortly  afterwards. 

After  scalping  and  mangling  their  victims  in  a most  hor- 
rible manner,  the  Indians  then  plundered  and  set  fire  to 
the  houses  and  consumed  them  to  ashes. 

I heard  the  news  of  this  mournful  event  about  10  o’clock 


130 


LOVGHER Y’S  DEFEAT 


in  the  morning  of  the  next  day  after  it  had  occurred,  and 
having  my  rifle,  powder  and  bullets  in  order  in  thirty  minutes 
I was  on  my  horse  marching  toward  the  Pigeon  Roost* 
I was  soon  in  company  with  many  mounted  riflemen  whom 

1 found  on  the  road.  We  arrived  at  the  ill-fated  spot  about 

2 p.  m.,  our  company  having  increased  to  the  number  of 
two  or  three  hundred  mounted  riflemen. 

Oh,  what  a mournful  scene  of  desolation,  carnage  and 
death  met  our  vision,  as  we  beheld  the  smoking  ruins  of 
log-cabins  and  the  mangled  bodies  of  men,  women  and 
children,  their  once  happy  inmates  ! I have  seen  the  Tip- 
pecanoe battle-fields  strewn  with  dead  and  dying  soldiers. 
They  had  fallen  in  deadly  strife  with  a savage  foe  whom 
they  had  conquered.  They  had  fallen  in  the  soldier’s  cos- 
tume, a soldier’s  armor.  They  were  entitled  to  a soldier’s 
grave.  Not  so  in  the  Pigeon  Roost  massacre.  Here  all 
were  doomed  to  indiscriminate  slaughter,  from  the  suck- 
ling babe  to  the  hoary-headed  grandmother  and  grandsire. 
Neither  age,  nor  sex,  nor  beauty,  nor  innocence  could 
stay  the  hand  of  the  merciless  savage. 

The  Pigeon  Roost  settlement  was  confined  to  less  than  a 
section  of  land.  It  was  a fertile  spot  in  the  midst  of  sur- 
rounding sterility.  Its  fertility  was  due  to  the  roosting  of 
pigeons  there  for  a long  series  of  years.  It  was  detached 
from  the  main  settlement  by  an  intervening  distance  of 
five  miles. 

A Mrs.  Beal,  whose  husband  was  a volunteer  in  Captain 
Pitman’s  company  at  Vincennes,  hearing  the  yells  of  the 
Indians,  retired  from  her  log-cabin,  with  her  two  infants, 
to  a sink  hole  in  a cornfield,  and  remained  there  till  nine 
or  ten  o’clock  at  night,  when  she  left  her  hiding  place  and 
traveled  a lonely  path  to  the  main  settlement,  where  she 
arrived  in  safety  with  her  children,  at  two  o’clock  the  next 
morning,  exhibiting  a presence  of  mind  and  a degree  of 
moral  courage  highly  honorable  to  female  character. 


AND  PIGEON  BOOST  MASSACRE. 


13 1 

About  this  time  an  attack  was  made  on  Fort  Harrison 
by  a thousand  or  twelve  hundred  Indians.  The  garrison, 
consisting  of  a company  of  U.  S.  Infrantry,  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Zachary  Taylor,  now  Major-General 
Taylor  commanding  the  U.  S.  Army  in  Mexico.  The 
fort  was  most  gallantly  and  successfully  defended,  and 
after  a siege  of  five  days  the  Indians  retired  At  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon  we  found  the  Indians’  trail  and 
pursued  it  till  dark,  and  then  encamped.  Finding  that  the 
Indians  had  left  the  Pigeon  Roost  early  in  the  morning,  we 
returned  home.  In  two  or  three  days  a large  number  of 
brave  Kentuckians  came  to  our  assistance.  They  were 
all  mounted  riflemen,  anxious  to  avenge  the  death  of  those 
unfortunate  inhabitants  who  had  been  murdered  at  Pig- 
eon Roost,  and  they  were  joined  by  a large  number  of 
Indiana  mounted  riflemen,  who  commenced  an  expedition 
against  the  Delaware  towns,  located  on  the  west  branch 
of  White  river.  In  attempting  a military  organization, 
the  expedition  failed  through  the  ambition  of  a few  men 
who  desired  to  have  the  command  of  the  troops.  We 
then  dispersed  and  retired  to  our  homes,  finding  a general 
panic  among  the  people,  many  of  whom  had  left  their 
homes  and  gone  to  Kentucky. 

The  court-house  at  Charlestown  was  converted  into  a 
fort  for  the  protection  of  the  town  and  its  vicinity.  Forts 
were  erected  all  along  the  line  of  our  frontier  settlements. 
They  were  garrisoned  by  the  militia  of  the  Territory, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  range  from  one  fort  to  the  other, 
until  the  spring  of  1813,  when  the  U.  S.  Rangers  went 
into  service.  In  the  early  part  of  March,  1813,  the  In- 
dians killed  a Mr.  Huffman,  wounded  his  wife,  and  took 
his  grandson  prisoner  in  daylight,  in  sight  of  one  of  the 
forts,  eight  miles  from  Charlestown. 

The  preceding  is  but  a brief  and  imperfect  sketch  of  the 
war  scenes  of  1812  and  ’13  as  they  appeared  in  a portion 
of  Indiana. 


132 


LOUGHERY’S  DEFEAT 


PIGEON-ROOST  MASSACRE. 

A.  W.  TOBIAS,  IN  MADISON  COURIER. 

Pigeon  Roost  was  the  name  of  a small  settlement 
formed  in  1809,  and  was  so  called  from  the  innumerable 
number  of  pigeons  that  roosted  in  that  vicinity.  It  was 
situated  five  miles  south  of  Scottsburg,  the  present  county 
seat  of  Scott,  and  near  a beautiful  stream  that  bears  the 
memorable  name  until  this  day.  At  the  time  of  the 
massacre  most  of  the  men  were  away  from  home.  In  the 
afternoon  of  September  3,  1812,  Ellis  Payne  and  a Mr. 
Codings,  while  out  bee-hunting  one  and  a half  miles  from 
the  present  site  of  Vienna,  were  surprised  and  killed  by  a 
party  of  Shawnee  warriors.  Scalping  their  victims,  they 
hastened  toward  the  settlement,  which  they  reached  about 
sundown.  In  one  short  hour  one  man,  five  women  and 
sixteen  children  were  struck  dead  by  the  ruthless  tommy- 
hawk  of  the  fiendish  savages.  Among  the  killed  were 
Henry  Codings  and  wife,  Mrs.  Payne  and  her  eight  chil- 
dren, Mrs.  Codings  and  her  seven  children,  Mrs.  John 
Norris,  her  only  child  and  aged  mother-in-law — for  the 
aged  were  spared  no  more  than  the  infant.  Mrs.  Briggs 
concealed  herself  and  children  in  a sink-hole  until  the  In- 
dians became  busily  engaged  in  burning  and  plundering, 
when  she  fled,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  residence  of 
her  brother.  John  Codings,  son  of  William  E.  Codings, 
had  just  caught  a horse  to  go  after  the  cows,  when  he  saw 
an  Indian  approaching  in  a threatening  attitude.  He 
dropped  the  rein  and  fled,  pursued  by  the  savage,  who  was 


AND  PIGEON  ROOST  MASSACRE. 


133 


gaining  on  him,  when  he  heard  the  report  of  his  father’s 
rifle,  and  saw  the  savage  fall  with  the  blood  streaming 
from  his  breast.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  the  house  in 
safety.  There  was  in  the  house : William  E.  Codings 
(whom  the  Indians  well  knew,  and  from  his  unerring  aim 
named  Long  Knife),  his  two  children,  John  and  Lydia,  and 
Captain  Norris.  They  kept  the  Indians  back  until  about 
dark.  They  knew  that  as  soon  as  it  was  dark  enough  for 
the  Indians  to  approach  the  house  without  being  seen  they 
would  set  fire  to  it,  and  burn  them  alive.  They  therefore 
decided  to  risk  the  peril  of  escape.  Lydia  went  first,  then 
her  brother  John,  followed  by  Norris,  and  lastly,  “Long 
Knife.”  As  the  latter  was  passing  the  corn-crib  an  Indian 
fired  at  him.  He  immediately  raised  his  gun  to  return  the 
fire,  when  he  found  that  the  ball  fired  by  the  savage  had 
broken  the  lock  of  his  gun.  He  hallooed  to  Norris  to 
bring  him  the  other  gun,  but  Norris  was  like  the  Irishman, 
“He  had  a brave  heart,  but  cowardly  pair  of  legs,”  and 
they  carried  him  away,  leaving  Codings  to  fight  the  In- 
dians alone  with  a broken  gun.  When  they  crowded  him 
too  close  he  would  raise  his  gun  and  pretend  that  he  was 
going  to  fire,  and  thus  frighten  them  back  ; for  they  knew, 
from  the  many  shooting-matches  in  which  he  came  out 
second  to  none,  that  it  was  folly  to  stand  before  his  aim. 
In  this  way  he  reached  the  corn-field,  under  cover  of  which 
he  escaped.  After  plundering  the  houses  the  Indians  set 
fire  to  them  and  most  of  the  dead  bodies  being  within  the 
houses  were  thus  consumed.  However,  some  of  the  chil- 
dren were  pierced  by  sharp  sticks  and  left  sitting  against 
the  trees.  Their  horrible  deed  accomplished,  the  Indians 
started  northward.  A large  force  of  Clark  county  militia 
were  soon  gathered  from  the  vicinity  of  Charlestown,  which 
reached  the  scene  of  carnage  while  the  smoking  remains 
of  the  cabins  and  charred  bodies  presented  the  most  hor- 
rible spectacle  they  had  ever  witnessed.  They  immedi- 


*34 


LOUGHER Y’S  DEFEAT , 7?TC. 


ately  pursued  the  savages  to  the  Muscatatuck,  which  they 
found  so  much  swollen  that  they  could  not  effect  a crossing, 
and  were  compelled  to  give  up  the  pursuit.  They  then  re- 
turned and  buried  the  remains  of  the  victims  in  two 
graves  about  one  hundred  yards  east  of  the  J.,  M.  & I. 
railroad,  and  near  what  is  since  known  as  the  Pigeon- 
roost  or  Sodom  Cemetery.  At  present  there  is  nothing 
to  show  where  the  graves  are  except  three  or  four  rough 
stones  and  a large  sassafras  tree,  which  is  said  to  have 
witnessed  the  event,  but  is  now  thought  to  be  entirely 
dead. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


VOLUME  II. 


Number  5. 


A DESCRIPTIVE  CATALOGUE 


OFFICIAL  PUBLICATIONS 

OP  TH  K 

TERRITORY  AND  STATE  OF  INDIANA 


FROM  1800  TO  1890 


INCLUDING  REFERENCES  TO  THE  LAWS  ESTABLISHING  THE  VARIOUS 
STATE  OFFICES  AND  INSTITUTIONS.  AND  AN  INDEX 
TO  THE  OFFICIAL  REPORTS. 


By  DANIEL  WAITE  HOWE 


INDIANAPOLIS  : 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

1890. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Indiana  Territorial  Publications — 

Journals  of  Territorial  General  Assembly 143 

Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges 143 

Laws  of  General  Assembly 144 

Indiana  State  Publications — 

Constitutional  Competition  Proceedings : 

Convention  of  1816 145 

“ “ 1851 M5 

Legislative  Proceedings: 

House  and  Senate  Journals 146 

Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports 148 

Brevier  Legislative  Reports 158 

Session  Laws 159 

Revisions 162 

Reports  of  State  Officers 164 

Adjutant-General 165 

Agent  of  State 167 

Agriculture,  State  Board 168 

Attorney-General 169 

Auditor  of  State 170 

Banks:  State  Bank 172 

Bank  of  State 174 

Blind  Institute 174 

Canal  Fund  Commissioners 174 

Centennial  Commissioner 176 

Charities,  Board  of  State 176 

Colonization  Board 176 

Commissary  General 177 

Custodian  of  Public  Buildings 177 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution 177 

Equalization  Board 179 

Feeble-Minded  Youth 180 


(137) 


I38 


table  of  contents. 


Fisheries  Commissioner 181 

Fund  Commissioners 181 

Geology  and  Natural  Resources 181 

Governor:  Messages 184 

Reprieves,  etc 184 

Contingent  Expenses,  etc 184 

Health  Board 185 

Horticultural  Society 185 

Indianapolis,  Agent  of  State  for 186 

Insane  Hospitals:  Old  Hospital 186 

Department  for  Women 189 

Additional  Hospitals 189 

Insurance  Commission 189 

“ Commissioner 190 

Internal  Improvement  Board 190 

Kankakee  River  Commissioners 194 

Librarian,  State 194 

Live  Stock  Sanitary  Commission 195 

Loan  Commissioners 196 

Michigan  Road  Commissioner 196 

Mine  Inspector 197 

New  Albany  and  Vincennes  Turnpike  Road 197 

Normal  School 198 

Oil  Inspector 198 

Prison,  South 199 

“ North . ; 202 

Public  Instruction:  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools 204 

“ “ Public  Instruction 204 

Purdue  University 205 

Quarter- Master  General 206 

Reform  School  for  Boys 207 

“ “ “ Girls 208 

Secretary  of  State 209 

Sinking  Fund 21 1 

Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Monument 212 

“ “ “ Orphans’  Asylum 212 

State  Debt  Sinking  Fund 213 

State  House  Commissioners:  Old  State  House 214 

New  “ “ 214 

Statistics,  Bureau 216 

Swamp  Land  Records,  Clerk 216 

Three  Per  Cent.  Fund,  Agent 217 

Treasurer  of  State 217 


\ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  I39 

University,  Indiana 219 

Vienna  Exposition  Commissionar 220 

Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  Trustees 221 

Wabash  River,  Commissioner 223 

War  Offices:  Agent  to  Purchase  Arms 224 

Allotment  Commissioner 224 

Arsenal,  State 224 

Draft  Commissioner 224 

Finance  Bureau 224 

Gettysburg  Soldiers*  National  Cemetery 224 

Hospital  Surgeons 224 

Legion,  Indiana 224 

Military  Agents 224 

“ Auditing  Committee 224 

Ordnance  Officer 224 

Pay  Agents 224 

Paymaster,  State 225 

Sanitary  Commission 225 

Special  Agents  to  visit  troops,  etc 225 

List  of  Reports  now  required  to  be  published 225 

Supreme  Court  Reports 226 

Miscellaneous  Reports 228 


Suggestions  as  to  State  Publications 


230 


PREFACE. 

/ 


There  is  not  now,  and  never  has  been,  any  catalogue  of 
the  official  publications  of  Indiana.  Very  few  know  what 
they  are,  or  the  contents  of  them.  They  might  as  well  be 
in  Hebrew,  so  far  as  the  general  public  is  concerned. 

It  is  the  object  of  this  catalogue  to  tell  what  they  are 
and,  in  a general  way,  what  is  in  them. 

I presume  that  most  persons  look  upon  “ official  publi- 
cations v as  belonging  to  that  class  of  books  charac- 
terized by  James  Russell  Lowell  as  “Literature  suited 
to  desolate  islands.”  I admit  that  they  are  not  as 
fascinating  as  the  latest  novel,  but  I affirm  that  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  valuable  and  interesting  reading  in  them. 
The  books  enumerated  in  this  catalogue  contain  informa- 
tion which  is  indispensible  to  one  who  wishes  to  be  famil- 
iar with  the  history  of  the  State.  They  contain  a great 
deal  upon  many  topics  of  interest  to  the  educator  and  the 
student.  They  show  the  record  of  Indiana  from  a begin- 
ning in  the  wilderness  to  the  front  rank  of  States — a rec- 
ord splendid  in  war  and  in  peace. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  and  other  publications  of  the 
Historical  Society  will  entitle  it  to  some  favorable  consid- 
eration from  the  public  and  the  Legislature.  A few  of  its 
members  meet  occasionally  and  do  what  they  can  to  ex- 
cite interest  in  the  history  of  Indiana.  Whatever  they 
publish  is  at  their  own  expense.  We  are  obliged,  there- 
fore, to  cultivate  history  as  economically  as  the  original 
publishers  of  the  Edinburg  Review,  according  to  their 
motto,  cultivated  literature. 

(H1) 


PREFACE. 


142 

But  we  are  doing  the  best  we  can  to  dig  out  the  wealth 
of  historic  treasure  that  lies  buried  in  old  books  and  musty 
manuscripts,  and,  if  we  accomplish  only  a little,  it  will  be 
that  much  gained  for  those  who  are  interested  in  the  study 
of  Indiana  history.  Daniel  Wait  Howe. 

Feb.  20 , 1890. 


INDIANA  TERRITORIAL  PUBLICATIONS. 


Journals  of  Territorial  General  Assembly. — The 
proceedings  of  the  Territorial  General  Assembly  were 
published  in  the  Western  Sun , a newspaper  printed  at 
Vincennes,  by  Elihu  Stout.  No  other  printed  copies  are 
now  known  to  be  in  existence,  although  it  is  supposed  by 
the  Hon.  William  H.  English,  Mr.  Jacob  P.  Dunn,  Jr., 
and  others,  who  have  carefully  investigated  the  matter, 
that  the  proceedings  were  separately  printed  and  bound. 
Nor  are  any  printed  copies  known  to  be  in  existence  of 
any  other  territorial  publication,  except  the  laws. 

A record  of  rare  historic  value,  the  executive  journal, 
kept  by  Gen.  John  Gibson,  Secretary  of  the  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory, remains  unprinted  to  this  day  in  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges. — On  May  7,  1800, 
Congress  passed  an  act  for  the  organization  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  to  take  effect  from  and  after  July  4th  of  that 
year.  By  that  act  the  law-making  power  was  vested  in 
the  Governor  and  territorial  judges,  with  certain  restric- 
tions, until  the  organization  of  a Territorial  General  As- 
sembly. The  only  complete  set  of  the  laws  adopted  by 
the  Governor  and  Judges,  as  originally  printed,  now  cer- 
tainly known  to  exist,  is  owned  by  Judge  John  H.  Stotsen- 
burg,  of  New  Albany,  Indiana.  The  laws  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Judges,  and  of  the  first  and  second  sessions  of 
the  first  Territorial  General  Assembly  were  reprinted  and 
published  in  one  volume,  by  Throop  & Clark,  Paoli,  Ind., 
m 1886. 


( 1 43) 


*44 


INDIANA  TERRITORIAL  PUBLICATIONS. 


The  sessions  of  the  Governor  and  Judges  at  which  laws 
were  adopted,  were  held  as  follows : 

First  session  begun  January  12,  1801. 

Second  “ “ January  30,  1802. 

Third  “ “ February  16,  1803. 

Fourth  “ “ September  20,  1803. 

Laws  of  General  Assembly. — There  were  five  Terri- 
torial General  Assemblies,  at  which  laws  were  passed,  of 
two  sessions  each.  At  the  first  session  of  the  second  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  a revision,  prepared  by  John  Rice  Jones 
and  John  Johnson,  was  adopted,  and  by  an  act  passed  at 
the  same  session  all  former  territorial  laws,  in  force  at  the 
beginning  of  the  session,  and  not  incorporated  in  the  re- 
vision, were  repealed.  This  is  known  as  the  “Revision 
of  1807.”  The  only  complete  set  of  the  laws  of  the 
General  Assembly,  as  originally  printed,  certainly  known 
to  exist,  is  owned  by  Mr.  William  Farrell,  of  Paoli, 
Indiana. 

There  was,  also,  published  in  1815,  as  a private  compi- 
lation, and  not  by  authority  of  the  General  Assembly,  a 
volume  entitled : “A  Compend  of  the  Acts  of  Indiana, 
from  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  seven  until  that  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  both  inclusive.  By  Gen- 
eral W.  Johnston,  of  Vincennes.  From  the  press  of  Elihu 
Stout,  Vincennes.”  Pages,  128. 

The  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  at  which  laws 
were  enacted,  were  held  as  follows : 

First  General  Assembly,  first  session,  begun  July  29,  1805. 

second  “ “ Nov.  3,  1806. 

Second  General  Assembly,  first  session,  begun  Aug.  16,  1807. 

second  “ “ Sept.  26,  1808. 

Third  General  Assembly,  first  session,  begun  Nov.  12,  1810. 

second  “ “ Nov.  11,  1811. 

Fourth  General  Assembly,  first  session,  begun  Feb.  1,  1813. 

, second  “ “ Dec.  6,  1813. 

Fifth  General  Assembly,  first  session,  begun  Aug.  15,  1814. 

second  “ “ Dec.  4,  1815. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


The  State  publications  may  be  conveniently  classified 
as  follows : 

1.  Proceedings  of  Constitutional  Conventions. 

2.  Legislative  Proceedings,  including — 

a.  House  and  Senate  Journals. 

b.  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports. 

c.  Brevier  Legislative  Reports. 

3.  Laws,  including — 

a.  Session  Laws. 

b.  Revisions. 

4.  Reports  of  State  officers,  etc. 

5.  Supreme  Court  Reports. 

6.  Miscellaneous. 

Proceedings  of  Constitutional  Conventions. — 
The  first  constitutional  convention  was  convened  at  Cory- 
don  June  10,  and  adjourned  June  29,  1816.  Its  proceed- 
ings are  contained  in  a journal  of  one  volume. 

The  second  constitutional  convention  convened  at  In- 
dianapolis October  7,  1850,  and  adjourned  February  10, 
1851,  the  Constitution  adopted  providing  that  it  should 
take  effect  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1851,  and  that 
it  should  supersede  that  of  1816.  Its  proceedings  are 
contained  in  a journal  of  one  volume  and  two  volumes  of 
debates. 


1816.  Journal  of  the  convention  of  the  Indiana  Territory  begun  and 
held  at  the  town  of  Corydon,  in  the  county  of  Harrison  and  Territory 
aforesaid,  on  the  second  Monday  in  June,  being  the  tenth  day  thereof, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixteen,  and  of 

(H5) 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLIC  A TIONS. 


146 

the  independence  of  the  United  States  the  fortieth.  Louisville.  1816. 
1 vol. 

1851.  Journal  of  the  convention  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Indiana 
to  amend  the  Constitution,  assembled  at  Indianapolis,  October,  1850.  In- 
dianapolis. 1851.  1 vol. 

Report  of  the  debates  and  proceedings  of  the  convention  for  the  re- 
vision of  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  1850.  Indianapolis. 
1850.  2 vols. 

Legislative  Proceedings — House  and  Senate  Journals . 
— These  are  the  Journals  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  beginning  with  the  first  session.  The 
Constitution  of  1816  provided  for  annual  sessions  of  the 
General  Assembly,  the  first  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  November  of  that  year,  and  subsequently  on  the  first 
Monday  in  December  in  each  year,  unless  a different  time 
should  be  fixed  by  law.  They  were  so  held,  except  in  a 
few  instances  mentioned  below,  until  after  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  of  1851,  which  provided  that  a session  of 
the  General  Assembly  should  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  December,  1851,  and  that  thereafter  the  sessions  should 
be  held  44  biennially,  commencing  on  the  Thursday  next 
after  the  first  Monday  in  January,  in  the  year  one  thous- 
and eight  hundred  and  fifty-three,  and  on  the  same  day 
of  every  second  year  thereafter, ” unless  a different  day 
should  be  appointed  by  law,  but  giving  the  Governor  the 
power,  by  proclamation,  to  call  a 44  special  session.” 
Under  the  Constitution  of  1851  various  special  sessions 
have  been  held,  commencing  at  the  dates  mentioned  be- 
low. These  are  sometimes  designated  as  “called,”  but 
usually  as  “special”  sessions. 

The  House  and  Senate  Journals  contain,  besides  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  two  legislative  bodies,  many  documents  of 
various  kinds,  such  as  messages  of  the  Governor,  reports, 
etc.  In  some  instances  the  same  document  is  printed  in 
both  House  and  Senate  Journals,  and  also  in  the  Docu- 
mentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  These  Journals 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


H7 

are  not  regularly  numbered,  and  are  cited  by  the  number 
of  the  session  or  year.  The  42d  session  is  styled  the  43d, 
and  the  error  in  numbering  has  been  continued  in  the  sub- 
sequent sessions.  The  Journals  prior  to  those  for  the  18th 
session  (1833-4)  are  not  indexed. 

The  following  is  a complete  list  of  the  House  and  Sen- 
ate Journals : 


No.  of  Session. 

Year. 

When  Begun. 

No.  OF  Vols. 
House.  Senate. 

1 

4,  1816 

1 

1 

2 

1817-18.... 

1,  1S17 

1 

1 

3 

1818-19 

7,  1818 

1 

1 

4 

6,  1819 

1 

I 

5 

1820-21 .... 

1 

1 

6 

1821-22.... 

19,  1821 

1 

1 

7 

1822-23.... 

2,  1822 

1 

1 

8 

1823-24.... 

1,  1823 

1 

1 

9 

1824-25.... 

Jan. 

10,  1825 

1 

10 

5,  1825 

1 

1 

11 

4,  1826 

1 

1 

12 

3,  l&27 

1, 1828 

1 

1 

*3 

1 

1 

H 

7i  *829 

1 

I 

15 

1830-31.... 

6,  1830 

1 

1 

16 

1831-32...., 

5>  i83j 

1 

1 

17 

1832-33.... 

3.  i832 

1 

iS 

1 833-34 — 

2,  1833 

1 

1 

T9 

1834-35...., 

1834 

7>  1835 

1 

20 

1835-36.... 

1 

1 

21 

1836-37.... 

5 5 i836 

1 

1 

22 

1837-38.... 

4.  l837 

1 

23 

1S38-39.... 

3.  i838 

1 

24 - 

1839-40.... 

2,  1839 

1 

1 

25 

7*  i84° 

1 

1 

26 

6,  1841 

1 

I 

27 

1842-43...., 

5>  lS42 

1 

1 

28 

1843-44.... 

4i  i843 

1 

I 

29 

1844-45...., 

2,  1844 

1 

I 

30 

1,  i845 

I 

31**’ 

7,  1846 

1 

?2 

6,  1847 

I 

33 

4,  1848 

1 

34 

1849-50.... 

3»  t849 

1 

35 

1850-51...., 

3°’  i85° 

I 

36  Reg 

1851-52 

U 1851 

1 

37  Reg 

i8S3 

.....Jan. 

6,  1853 

1 

1 

38  Reg 

i855 

.....Jan. 

4>  18 55 

1 

1 

39  Reg 

i857 

....Jan. 

8,  1857 

1 

1 

Special  

1858 

20,  1858 

1 

148 


INDIA NA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


No.  OF  Vols. 
House.  Senate. 


No.  of  Session. 

Y EAR. 

When  Begun. 

4°  Reg 

I859 

Jan. 

6, 

1859... 

41  Reg 

l86l 

Jan. 

10, 

1861... 

Special 

l86l 

April 

24, 

1861... 

43  Reg 

1863 

Jan. 

8, 

1863..., 

44  Reg 

Jan. 

5. 

1863.... 

Called  1865 

45  Reg i867 

46  Reg 1869 

Special 1869 

47  Reg 1S71 

Special 1S72 

48  Reg i873 

49  Reg.  and } i875 .Jan. 

Special  f “ Mar. 

50  Reg.  and[  1877 .Jan. 


.Nov.  13,  1865. 
.Jan.  10,  1867. 
.Jan.  7,  1869. 
.April  8,  1869. 
Jan.  5,  1871. 
.Nov.  13,  1872. 
Jan.  9,  1873. 
7»  i875- 

9,  “ - 

4,  1877. 

6,  “ . 
9,  1879. 


Special  ) “ Mar. 

51  Reg.  and)  1879 .Jan. 

Special  \ “ Mar.  11, 

52  Reg.  and[  1881 Jan.  6, 

Special  ) “ Mar.  8, 

53  Reg.  1883 Jan.  4,  1883 

54  Reg.  and)  i885 Jan.  8,  1885 

Special  ) “ Mar.  10,  “ 

55  Reg-  i887 -Jan.  6,  1887 


1881, 

u 


I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

1 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 


Total 62  60 


Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports . — These 
were  formerly  variously  entitled  “Documents,”  “Senate 
and  House  Documents,”  “Documentary  Journals,”  etc. 
Since  the  27th  session,  (1842-43),  they  have  sometimes 
been  labeled  as  “Documentary  Journals,”  and  sometimes  as 
“Annual  Reports.”  Documents  and  reports  of  the  kind  in- 
cluded in  them  were  originally  included  in,  and  printed  as 
part  of,  the  House  and  Senate  Journals.  On  December 
16,  1835,  a resolution  was  adopted  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ordering  the  public  printer  to  print  one  thousand 
copies  of  the  Journals  of  the  House  and  three  hundred 
copies  of  public  documents  in  separate  volumes,  and  “that 
in  this  volume  of  documents  shall  be  printed  all  reports 
made  to  this  House  in  pursuance  of  any  law  or  resolution 
of  this  House,  in  the  order  they  are  presented,”  etc. 
House  Journal,  20th  session  (1835-36),  p.  62-3.  A further 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


H9 

resolution  was  adopted,  ordering  the  printing  of  three 
hundred  copies  of  all  reports  and  other  -papers  ordered  to 
be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  House,  and  that  the  same 
should  be  bound  with,  and  constitute  part  of,  the  journals 
of  reports  and  documents  before  provided  for.  Id .,  p.  72. 
At  the  same  session  a resolution  was  adopted,  directing 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  index  the  journals  and  docu- 
ments. Id.,  p.  142.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  begin- 
ning of  the  binding  of  such  reports  and  documents  in 
separate  volumes.  No  law  in  regard  to  them  was  enacted 
until  1839,  when  an  act  was  passed  directing  what  docu- 
ments should  go  into  the  “Documentary  Journals,”  that 
they  should  be  continuously  paged  and  indexed,  and  how 
arranged,  bound,  etc.  The  act  also  provided  that  “no 
document  or  report  directed  by  this  act,  or  may  be  directed 
by  either  branch  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  be  placed 
in  the  Documentary  Journal,  shall  be  journalized  in  the 
journal  of  the  Senate  or  of  the  House.”  Laws,  1839, 
p.  46. 

Until  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1851,  provid- 
ing for  biennial  sessions  of  the  General  Assemby,  the 
Documentary  Journals  were  printed  yearly,  and  contained 
only  the  documents  and  reports  submitted  to  the  General 
Assembly  or  to  one  of  its  branches.  By  the  Revised 
Statutes  of  1852  (vol.  1,  p.  436),  the  Secretary  of  State 
was  required  to  prepare  and  deliver  to  the  State  Printer 
“a  properly  digested  index  * * * of  the  Documentary 
Journals,”  etc. 

The  public  printing  act  of  April  13,  1885  (1885,  P*  215), 
provides  for  the  annual  publication  of  1,600  copies  of  the 
Documentary  Journals,  but  does  not  specify  what  reports 
or  other  documents  shall  be  included  in  them. 

Many  of  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports 
are  put  together  very  carelessly,  not  being  continuously 
paged  and  indexed  as  originally  provided,  the  documents 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


150 

in  several  of  them  not  being  bound  in  numerical  order,  or 
not  numbered  at  all,  several  of  the  volumes  being  wrongly 
numbered  or  labeled,  and  in  other  ways  very  imperfectly 
gotten  up. 

For  many  years  the  volumes  have  been  made  up  by 
binding  together  the  documents  contained  in  them  with 
the  original  paging  thereof,  and  without  any  indexes,  but 
they  have  usually  contained  tables  of  contents.  They  are 
not  regularly  numbered,  and  are  cited  by  the  number  of 
the  session  or  year. 

The  following  is  a complete  descriptive  catalogue  of  the 
Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  beginning 
with  the  first  volume  (1835-6),  to  the  volumes  for  1888  in- 
clusive, indicating  also  whether  the  reports  contained  in 
them  were  submitted  to  the  Governor  or  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and,  if  to  the  latter,  at  what  session  : 

1835- 6.  2oth  Session.  Dec.  7,  1835. — Title  on  back,  “Reports  of 

1 835- 6.”  No  title  page. 

Volume  as  printed  contains  no  index  nor  table  of  contents,  and  is  not 
continuously  paged.  Contains  reports  submitted  to  Twentieth  General 
Assembly.  A few  of  the  documents  are  marked  “Senate,”  but  most  of 
them  “H.  R.”  1 vol. 

1836- 7.  2ist  Session.  Dec.  5,  1836. — Title  on  back,  “Documents  of 

1836- 7.”  No  title  page. 

Volume  as  printed  contains  no  index  nor  table  of  contents,  and  is  not 
continuously  paged.  Contains  reports,  all  marked  “H.  R.,”  submitted  to 
Twenty-first  General  Assembly.  1 vol. 

1837- 8.  22D  Session.  Dec.  4,  1837. — Title  on  back,  “Documents, 

1837- 8.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the 
Twenty-second  Session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
begun  and  held  in  the  Town  of  Indianapolis,  December  4,  1837.”  Vol- 
ume as  printed  contains  no  index  nor  table  of  contents,  and  is  not  con- 
tinuously paged.  Contains  reports  and  documents  submitted  to  Twenty- 
second  General  Assembly,  all  marked  “H.  R.,”  except  the  last,  which 
is  a “report  of  a Geological  Reconnoisance,”  etc.,  addressed  “To  the 
Honorable  the  Legislature  of  Indiana.”  1 vol. 

1838- 9.  23D  Session.  Dec.  3,  1838. — Title  on  back,  “Documents, 

1838- 9.”  No  title  page. 


INDIA N A STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


I51 

Continuously  paged,  with  index.  Contains  Governor’s  message  and 

documents,  continuously  numbered,  marked  “Doc.  No. , House  of 

Representatives,”  submitted  to  Twenty-third  General  Assembly,  i vol. 

1839- 40.  24TH  Session.  Dec.  2,  1839. — Title  on  back,  “Sen.  & House 
Documents,  1839-40.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume.  Part  1st  entitled,  “Documents 
of  the  Senate  of  Indiana,  Twenty-fourth  Session.”  Part  2d  entitled, 
“Reports  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  Twenty-fourth 
Session,”  etc.  Each  part  continuously  paged,  with  separate  index.  1 vol. 

1840- 41.  25TH  Session.  Dec.  7,  1840. — Title  on  back,  “House  and 
Senate  Documents,  1840-41.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume,  without  title  pages,  but  each  part  is 
continuously  paged,  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  Contains  docu- 
ments and  reports  submitted  to  Twenty-fifth  General  Assembly.  1 vol. 

1841- 2.  26th  Session.  Dec.  6,  1841.  Title  on  back,  “Senate  and  House 
Documents,  1841-2.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume.  Title  page  of  part  1st,  “Docu- 
ments of  the  Senate  at  Twenty-sixth  Session,”  etc.  Title  page  of  part 
2d,  “Documents  of  the  House  of  Representatives,”  etc.  Each  part  is  con- 
tinuously paged,  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  The  documents  are 
also  continuously  numbered.  1 vol. 

1842- 3.  27TH  Session.  Dec.  5,  1842. — Title  on  back,  “Senate  and 

House  Documents,  1842-3.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume.  Part  1st  entitled,  “Documents  of 
the  Senate  at  the  Twenty-seventh  Session,”  etc.  Part  2d  entitled,  “Doc- 
uments of  the  House  of  Representatives,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously 
paged  and  has  table  of  separate  contents.  1 vol. 

1843- 4.  28th  Session.  Dec.  4,  1843. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1843-4.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume.  Part  1st  entitled,  “Documents  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  Twenty-eighth  Session,”  etc.  Part 
2d  entitled,  “Documents  of  the  Senate,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously 
paged  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  1 vol. 

1844- 5.  29TH  Session.  Dec.  2,  1844. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1844-45.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First  ” and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in  one 
volume,  each  entitled  “Documents  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Session,”  etc. 
Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  1 
vol. 

1845- 6.  30TH  Session.  Dec.  1,  1845. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  1845-46.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “Part  First”  and  “Part  Second,”  bound  in  one 


!52 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


volume,  each  entitled  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Indiana  at  the  Twenty-Ninth  [thirtieth)  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is 
continuously  paged  and  has  separate  table  of  contents,  i vol. 

1846- 7.  31ST  Session.  Dec.  7,  1846. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1846-47.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “Part  First”  and  “Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  each  entitled  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  In- 
diana at  the  Thirtieth  ( thirty-first ) Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continu- 
ously paged  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  1 vol. 

1847- 8.  32D  Session.  Dec.  6 1847. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 

Journal,  1847-48.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First  ” and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in  one 
volume,  each  entitled  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana 
at  the  Thirty-First  ( thirty-second ) Session,  commencing  December  3,  (6) 
1847.”  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  separate  table  of  con- 
tents. vol.  1. 

1848- 9.  33D  Session.  Dec.  4,  1848. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 

Journal,  Indiana,  1S48.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First”  and  “Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  each  entitled  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  In- 
diana at  the  Thirty-Third  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously 
paged  and  has  separate  table  of  contents.  1 vol. 

1849- 50.  34TH  Session.  Dec.  3,  1849.  Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  1849-50.” 

In  two  parts,  bound  in  one  volume.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged. 
“ Part  1 ” is  entitled  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at 
the  Thirty-Third  {thirty -fourth)  Session.”  “Part  First”  and  has  table 
of  contents.  “Part  Second  ” is  not  numbered,  has  no  title  page  nor  table 
of  contents.  1 vol. 

1850- 1.  35TH  Session.  Dec.  30,  1850. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1850-1.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “Part  First”  and  “Part  Second,”  bound  in  one 
volume,  each  entitled  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at 
the  Thirty-fifth  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has 
separate  table  of  contents.  1 vol. 

1851- 2.  36TH  Session.  Dec.  i,  1851. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1851-2.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “Part  First”  and  “Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  each  entitled  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  In- 
diana at  the  Thirty-sixth  Session,  ’’etc.  The  documents  in  Part  First 
before  page  73  are  not  continuously  paged.  Part  Second  is  continuously 
paged.  Each  part  has  separate  table  of  contents.  1 vol. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


*53 

1852-3.  37TH  Session.  Jan.  6,  1853. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1852-53.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First”  and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in  one 
volume,  each  entitled  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at 
the  Thirty-seventh  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and 
has  separate  index. 

1853.  Governor.  — Title  on  back,  “Documentary  Journal,  Indiana, 

1854.”  No  title  page. 

Is  not  continuously  paged,  and,  as  printed,  has  no  index  nor  table  of 
contents.  Contains  reports  submitted  to  Governor  for  year  1853.  1 vol. 

1854-5.  38TH  Session.  Jan.  4,  1855. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  Session  1855.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First,”  and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  continuously  paged  and  indexed.  Each  part  is  entitled, 
“ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the  Thirty-eighth 
Session,”  etc.  1 vol. 

1855.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  1855-6.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First  ” and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume.  Each  part  is  entitled,  “ Reports  of  the  Officers  of  the  State 
of  Indiana  to  the  Governor,  required  by  law  to  be  made  to  him  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  General  Assembly  for  the  year  ending  Nov.  (Oct.)  31,  1855.” 
Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  separate  index.  1 vol. 

*856-7.  39th  Session.  Jan.  8,  1857. 

In  two  parts,  bound  separately.  Part  First  entitled  on  the  back, 
“Documentary  Journal,  Part  1,  1857;”  Part  Second  entitled  on  back, 
“ Documentary  Journal,  Part  2,  1857.”  Title  page  of  each,  “ Documents 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the  Thirty-ninth  Session,”  etc. 
Each  part  is  continuousljr  paged  and  indexed.  2 vols. 

1857.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  1857.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First  ” and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  each  entitled,  “ Reports  of  the  Officers  of  State  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  to  the  Governor,  for  Year  1857.”  Each  part  is  continuously 
paged  and  has  separate  index.  1 vol. 

1858-9.  40TH  Session.  Jan.  6,  1859. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  1858-9.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  1 ” and  “ Part  2,”  bound  in  one  volume, 
each  entitled  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana,  at  the 
Fortieth  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  sepa- 
rate index.  1 vol. 

1859.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  1859-60.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  First  ” and  “ Part  Second,”  bound  in 
one  volume,  each  entitled,  “ Reports  of  !the  Officers  of  the  State  of  Indi- 


*54 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


ana,  to  the  Governor,  for  the  years  1859  and  i860.”  Contains  reports  for 
1859,  but  none  for  i860.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  sepa- 
rate index.  1 vol. 

1860-1.  41ST  Session.  Jan.  10,1861. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  1861.” 

In  two  parts,  numbered  “ Part  1 ” and  “ Part  2,”  bound  in  one  volume, 
each  entitled,  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
Forty-first  Session,”  etc.  Each  part  is  continuously  paged  and  has  sepa- 
rate index.  1 vol. 

1861.  Governor  and  Special  Session.  April  24,  1861. — Title  on 
back,  “ Documentary  Journal.  To  the  Governor,  1861.” 

Title  page,  “ Reports  of  the  Officers  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  to  the 
Governor,  for  the  Years  i860  and  1861.”  Contains,  also,  messages  of 
Governor  Morton  to  the  General  Assembly  at  its  extra  session,  April  24, 
1861.  Continuously  paged  and  indexed.  1 vol. 

1862-3.  42D  Session.  Jan.  8,  1863. — Part  1.  Title  on  back,  “ Docu- 

mentary Journal,  1862.” 

Title  page,  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
Forty-third  ( Forty-second ) Session,  begun  on  the  tenth  ( eighth ) day  of 
January,  1863.”  Continuously  paged  and  indexed.  There  is  an  error  in 
paging  (see  p.  160).  The  index  omits  report  of  State  Librarian  on  page 
145.  1 vol. 

1862-3.  Continued.  Part  5,  vol  1. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  Part  2,  vol  1,  1863.” 

Title  page,  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana,  at  the 
Forty-second  Regular  Session,”  etc.  Continuously  paged  and  indexed. 
1 vol. 

1862-3.  Continued.  Part  2,  vol.  2. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,  Part  2,  vol.  2,  1863.” 

Title  page,  “ Documents  of  the  General  Assemoiy  of  Indiana  at  the 
Forty-second  Regular  Session,”  etc.  This  volume  is  continuously  paged, 
beginning  with  page  899,  in  continuation  of  paging  of  vol.  1,  the  last  page 
of  which  is  898;  has  index.  1 vol. 

1862-3.  Continued.  Part  2,  vol.  3. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  Part  2,  vol.  3,  1863.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
Forty-second  Regular  Session,”  etc.  This  volume  is  continuously  paged, 
beginning  with  page  1,335,  in  continuation  of  paging  of  vol.  2,  the  last 
page  of  which  is  1,334;  contains  only  the  report  of  Indiana  Arsenal. 
1 vol. 

1863.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary  Journal,  1S63.” 

Title  page,  “Reports  of  the  Officers  of  State  of  the  State  of  Indiana 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


!55 

to  the  Governor,  for  the  year  1863.”  Is  continuously  paged  and  indexed. 
1 vol. 

1864-5.  43D  Session.  Jan.  5,  1865.  Part  1. — Title  on  back,  “Docu- 

mentary Journal,  1864.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  and  Annual  Reports  of  Officers  and  Public 
Institutions  of  the  State  of  Indiana  to  the  Legislature,  for  the  year  1864.” 
Continuously  paged  and  indexed.  The  index  is  entitled,  “Index,  Part  1, 
vol.  1.”  1 vol. 

1864- 5.  Continued.  Part  2. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary  Journal, 
Part  2,  1865.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
forty-third  regular  session,  begun  on  the  5th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1865, 
Part  2.”  Continuously  paged,  with  table  of  contents.  There  is  an  error 
in  paging  after  page  200.  1 vol. 

1865- 6.  Governor.  Special  Session.  Nov.  13,  1865.  44TH  Ses- 
sion. Jan.  10,  1S67.  Title  on  back,  “Documentary  Journal,  Part  1, 
1866.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
forty-third  regular  session,  begun  on  the  5th  of  January,  A.  D.  1865.” 
Is  continuously  paged,  and  has  table  of  contents  referring  to  documents 
by  number,  but  not  by  pages.  It  contains  no  documents  submitted  to 
the  forty-third  session,  but  contains  ieports  of  State  officers  to  the  Gov- 
ernor for  the  year  1865,  the  message  of  Gov.  Morton  to  special  session, 
begun  November  13,  1865;  and  also  fourteenth  annual  (third  biennial), 
report  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  dated  December  31,  1866, 
for  years  ending  August  31,  1865,  and  August  31,  1866,  submitted  to 
forty-fourth  (designated  in  next  volume  as  forty-fifth)  regular  session,  and 
which  should  have  been  bound  in  next  volume  (1866-7).  1 v°l- 

1866- 7.  45th  Session.  Jan.  io*  1867. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary 
Journal,  Part  1,  1867.” 

Title  page,  “Documents  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana  at  the 
forty-fifth  regular  session,  begun  on  the  10th  day  of  January,  A.  D. 
1867.”  Is  not  continuously  paged.  Has  table  of  contents  referring  to 
documents  by  numbers.  The  documents  are  designated  as  belonging  to 
“Part  II.”  The  session  was,  in  fact,  the  forty-fourth  session,  but  the 
error  in  numbering  is  continued  in  subsequent  volumes.  1 vol. 

1867- 8.  Governor.  46TH  Session.  Jan.  7,  1869. — Title  on  back» 

“Documentary  Journal,  Part  1,  1867-6S.” 

Title  page,  “Documentary  Journal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Indiana.  Part  1,  for  1867-1868.  It  is  not  continuously  paged 
after  page  280,  and,  as  printed,  has  no  index  nor  table  of  contents.  It  con- 
tains some  reports  of  State  officers  to  Governor  for  year  1867;  also  the 
following,  which  were  probably  submitted  to  the  Forty-sixth  regular  ses- 


156 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


sion,  beginning  January  7,  1869,  and  which  should  have  been  bound  as 
“Part  1,”  for  1868-9,  viz.: 

Document  No.  7,  pt.  1,  Twentieth  Annual  Report  Hospital  for  Insane, 
for  the  year  1868. 

Document  No.  8,  pt.  1,  Annual  Report  of  State  Prison  South,  for 

1868. 

Document  No.  9,  pt.  1,  Annual  Report  Trustee  Wabash  and  Erie 
Canal  for  1867-68. 

Sixteenth  Annual  (fourth  biennial)  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Pub- 
lic Instruction,  for  1867—1868. 

All  the  documents  in  the  volume  are  designated  as  belonging  to  “Part 
1,”  but  are  not  bound  in  numerical  order;  two  have  same  number,  and 
one  has  no  number  1 vol. 

1868-9.  46TH  Session.  Jan.  7,  1869.  Special  Session.  April  8, 
1869. — Title  on  back,  “Documentary  Journal,  1869.” 

Title  page,  “Documentary  Journal  of  the  Genernal  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Indiana.  Part  II  for  1869.”  It  is  not  continuously  paged,  and 
as  printed  has  no  index  nor  table  of  contents.  Contains  report  of  State 
officers  for  1868,  submitted  to  Forty-sixth  Session,  begun  January  7, 1869; 
also,  a committee  report  submitted  to  Special  Session,  begun  April  8, 

1869,  and  a collection  of  school  laws  and  opinions,  issued  by  the  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Instruction,  dated  June  1,  1869.  Some  of  the  docu- 
ments are  designated  as  belonging  to  “Part  I,”  one  to  “Part  II,”  and 
some  are  not  designated  as  belonging  to  either,  and  have  no  number.  It 
seems  that  the  documents  in  this  and  preceding  volume  were  designed  to 
be  bound  in  parts,  designated  as  Part  I and  Part  II,  for  1S68-9,  but  have 
been  improperly  arranged.  1 vol. 

1869.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “Annual  Reports,  Indiana,  1868.”  No 
title  page. 

Not  continuously  paged,  and  as  printed  has  no  index  nor  table  of  con- 
tents. Contains  reports  of  State  officers  to  Governor  for  year  1869.  1 vol. 
1870-1.  47TH  Session.  Jan.  5,  1871. 

In  two  volumes,  respectively  entitled  on  the  back,  “ Documentary 
Journal,”  “Vol.  1,”  “Vol.  2,”  “1870-1.”  Title  page  of  each  volume, 
“ Documentary  Journal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indi- 
ana.” Neither  volume  is  continuously  paged,  and  neither  as  printed  has 
any  index  or  table  of  contents.  They  contain  documents  and  reports 
submitted  to  Forty-seventh  Session,  begun  January  5,  1871.  2 vols. 

1871.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  1871.” 

Title  page,  “ Documentary  Journal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Indianafor  1871.”  Not  continuously  paged,  and  as  printed  has 
no  index  nor  table  of  contents.  It  contains  no  documents  nor  reports 
submitted  to  the  General  Assembly,  but  only  reports  of  State  officers  to 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


x57 


Governor  for  year  1871.  These  are  bound  up  indiscriminately  without  re- 
gard to  numerical  order.  They  are  all  designated  as  belonging  to  “ Part 
I.”  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  “ Part  II.” 

1872-3.  4STH  Session.  Jan.  9,  1873.  Special  Session.  Nov.  13, 
1872. — Title  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  1872-73.”  No  title  page. 
Not  continuously  paged.  As  printed,  has  no  index  nor  table  of  con- 
tents. Contains  reports  and  documents  to  Governor  and  Forty-eighth 
Session;  also,  message  of  Governor  Baker  to  Special  Session  begun  No- 
vember 13,  1872.  1 vol. 

1873.  Governor. — Title  on  back,  “ Annual  Reports  of  Indiana,  1873.” 

Title  page,  “ Annual  Reports  of  the  Officers  of  State  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,  and  of  the  Trustees  and  Superintendents  of  the  several  Benevo- 
lent, Reformatory  and  Educational  Institutions  thereof,  required  by  law 
to  be  made  to  the  Governor,  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1873.”  Not 
continuously  paged,  and  has  no  index,  but  the  preface  indicates  the  con- 
tents. 1 vol. 

1874-5.  49TH  Session.  Jan.  7,  1875. 

In  two  volumes,  entitled  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  Indiana.” 
“Part  I,  1874-5.”  “ Part  II,  1874-5.”  Title  page  of  each  volume,  “Leg- 

islative Documents,  Including  Message  of  the  Governor  and  the  Annual 
Reports  of  1874  Transmitted  therewith  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Indiana  in  Forty-ninth  Regular  Session,  begun  January  7,  1875.” 
Neither  volume  is  continuously  paged,  but  each  has  a separate  index  re- 
ferring to  documents  by  numbers.  2 vols. 

1875.  Governor.  Title  on  back,  “ Annual  Reports,  Indiana,  1875.” 

Title  page  similar  to  that  of  1873.  Contains  reports  of  State  Officers 
to  Governor  for  1875.  Not  continuously  paged,  and  has  no  index,  but 
preface  indicates  contents.  1 vol. 

1876-7.  50TH  Session.  Jan.  4,  1877. 

In  two  volumes,  entitled  on  back,  “ Documentary  Journal,  Indiana.” 
“ Part  I,  1876-7.”  “ Part  II,  1876-7.”  Title  page  of  each,  “Annual  Re- 

ports of  1876  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana 
in  Fiftieth  Regular  Session,”  etc.  Neither  volume  is  continuously  paged, 
but  each  has  index  referring  to  documents  by  numbers.  2 vols. 

1877.  Governor.  Title  on  back,  “ Annual  Reports  Indiana,  1877.” 

Title  page  similar  to  that  of  1873.  n°t  continuously  paged.  No  in- 
dex, but  preface  indicates  contents.  1 vol. 

1878-9.  51ST  Session.  Jan.  9,  1879. — In  two  volumes,  entitled  on  back, 
“Documentary  Journal,  Indiana,”  “Part  I,  1878-9;”  “Part  II, 
1878-9.” 

Title  page  of  each  volume,  “ Annual  Reports  of  1878  Submitted  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana  in  Fifty-first  Regular  Session,” 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


!S8 

etc.  Not  continuously  paged.  Each  volume  has  inde  xreferring  to  docu- 
ments by  numbers.  2 vols. 

The  volumes  subsequent  to  1878-9  to  1888,  inclusive,  contain  annual 
and  biennial  reports  for  each  year.  They  are  not  continuously  paged,  but 
each  has  index  referring  to  documents  by  numbers.  The}'  are  all  entitled 
on  back,  “ Annual  Reports  of  Indiana,”  except  volumes  for  1886  and  18S8, 
which  are  entitled  “Documentary  Journal.” 

1879.  Governor. — Parts  1 and  2.  2 vols. 

1S80.  52D  Session.  Jan  6,  1S81. — Parts  1 and  2.  2 vols. 

18S1.  Governor. — Part  1,  no  Part  2.  1 vol. 

1S82.  53D  Session.  Jan.  4,  1883. — 1 vol. 

1883.  Governor. — 1 vol. 

1884.  Contains  reports  “Required  by  law  to  be  made  to  the  Governor,” 

for  the  year  ending  October  31,  1884,  but  were  those  by  him  submitted 
to  the  Fifty-fourth  Session,  January  8,  1885.  1 vol. 

1885.  Governor. — Erroneously  marked  as  “ 1886.”  1 vol. 

1886.  Contains  reports  “Required  by  law  to  be  made  to  the  Governors,” 

for  year  ending  October  31,  1885,  but  were  those  by  him  submitted  to 
Fifty-fifth  Session,  January  6,  1887.  1 vol. 

18S7.  Governor. — 1 vol. 

1888.  56TH  Session.  Jan.  10,  1889. — Parts  1 and  2.  2 vols. 

Brevier  Legislative  Reports.— These  are  condensed  re- 
ports of  the  debates  and  proceedings  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  State  of  Indiana.  They  are  variously  entitled  upon 
the  backs  of  them,  but  upon  the  title  pages  are  designated 
as  “Brevier  Legislative  Reports,”  except  volume  1,  which 
is  entitled  “ The  Legislative  Sentinel.  ” They  were  begun 
in  1858  by  W.  H.  and  A.  E.  Drapier,  and  continued  by 
W.  H.  Drapier.  None  of  the  volumes  were  published  by 
authority  of  the  State,  but  they  are  of  a semi-official  char- 
acter from  the  fact  that  the  reporters  were,  during  all,  or 
most  of  the  time,  the  official  stenographers  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  contracts  were  made  with  them  from  time 
to  time  by  the  House  and  Senate  for  the  purchase  of  some 
of  the  volumes. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


I59 


The  following  is  a complete  list  of  these  reports  : 


Vol.  Session. 

1  Special.  . 

2  Regular  , 

3* 

4  Regular 

5  Special.  . 

6  Regular  . 

7  Regular  . 

8  Special . . 

9  Regular., 

10  Regular. 

11  Special.  . 

12  Regular. 

13  Special.  . 

.14 Regular. 


Regular 

and 

Special 

Regular 

and 

Special 

Regular 

Regular 

and 

Special 

Regular 


Y EAR. 
.1858.. 
.1859.. 

.1861.. 
. 1861 . . 
.1863. . 
. 1865. . 
.1865. . 
. 1867. . 
. 1869. . 
. 1869. . 
. 1871 . . 
. 1872. . 

•i87 3- • 


i879- 

1881. 

1883. 

1885. 

1887. 


VOLS. 
. . . I 
. . . I 

. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 
. . . I 


I 


I 

I 

I 

I 


* Is  said  by  Mr.  Drapier,  the  reporter,  to  have  been  printed,  but  never 
published  nor  bound,  and  to  contain  only  some  14  or  15  pages. 

t Was  never  published.  It  was  intended  to  include  regular  and  special 
sessions  of  1875. 

^ Was  never  published.  It  was  intended  to  include  regular  and  special 
sessions  of  1877. 


Laws — Session  Laws. — As  the  sessions  under  the  Con- 
stitution of  1816  usually  began  in  December,  the  greater 
part  of  the  laws  of  the  session  would  not  be  enacted  until 
the  January  following,  and  so  the  laws  are  usually  desig- 
nated as  of  the  year  following  the  date  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session.  Thus  the  laws  adopted  at  the  first 
session,  begun  in  November,  1816,  are  cited  as  “Laws 
1817.” 

Before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1851,  which 
greatly  curtailed  special  legislation,  there  were  many 


160  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

laws  of  private  or  local  character.  Those  of  1818,  1824 
and  1831  were  bound  separately,  and  were  designated  as 
“ Special  Acts.”  Those  for  the  20th  session  (1835-6)  and 
for  subsequent  years,  to  and  including  those  for  the  36th 
session  (1851-2),  were  also  bound  separately,  and  were 
designated  as  “Local  Laws,”  except  those  for  the  36th 
session,  which  were  designated  as  “ Special  and  Local 
Acts.”  The  classification  of  the  general  and  special  laws 
was  not  very  accurate,  and  many  laws  of  a general  char- 
acter are  to  be  found  bound  in  the  special  and  local  laws. 

Besides  the  general  and  special  laws  there  were  several 
militia  laws  bound  in  separate  volumes,  as  were  those  of 
1824  and  1831.  In  the  special  acts  of  1818,  p.  1 1 7,  it  was 
expressly  provided  “That  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  authorize  the  public  printers  to  print 
an  act  passed  at  the  present  session,  entitled  ‘An  act  to 
regulate  the  militia.’  ” But  in  a table  of  “ Errata  of  the 
act  regulating  the  militia,”  contained  in  the  laws  of  1819, 
p.  15 1,  it  appears  that  the  act  referred  to  was  printed,  but 
by  what  authority  does  not  appear. 

After  1851  the  special  and  local  laws  and  the  militia 
laws  were  not  bound  separately  from  the  general  laws. 

The  laws  passed  at  the  various  special  sessions  held 
since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  185  1 are  bound 
separately  except  those  for  the  years,  1875,  1877,  1S79, 
1881  and  1885,  which  are  bound  in  the  volumes  containing 
the  laws  of  the  regular  sessions  of  those  years,  the  volumes 
for  1879,  I^8I  and  1885  being  continuously  paged. 

The  44th  session,  by  a misprint,  is  designated  in  the 
laws  of  that  year  as  the  45th,  and  the  error  in  numbering 
has  been  continued  in  the  laws  of  the  subsequent  sessions. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS.  161 

The  following  is  a complete  list  of  the  session  laws, 
showing,  also,  how  they  are  designated  : 


No.  of  Session.  How  Designated. 

1  Laws  1817 

2  “ 1818 

“ Special  Acts  “ 

3  Laws  1819 

4  “ 1820 

5  “ 1821 

6  “ 1822 

7  “ 1823 

8  Militia  “ 1824 

“ Special  Acts  “ 

9  Laws  1825 

10  *“  1826 

11  “ 1827 

12  “ 1828 

13  “ 1829 

14  “ 1830 

15  Miiitia  “ 1831 

“ Special  Acts  “ 

16  Laws  1832 

17  “ 1833 

18  “ 1834 

19  “ i835 

“ Local  “ “ 

20  “ 1836 

“ Local  “ “ 

21  1837 

“ Local  “ 

22  Laws  included  in  R.  S.  1838 

23  Laws  1839 

“ Local  “ 

24  “ 1840 

“ Local  “ “ 

25  “ 1841 

“ Local  “ “ 

26  “ 1842 

“ Local  “ 

27  “ 1843 

“ Local  “ 

28  “ 1844 

“ Local  “ 

29  “ 1845 

“ Local  “ 

30  “ 1846 

“ Local  “ 

31  “ 1847 

“ Local  “ “ 

32  “ 1848 

“ Local  “ 


162 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


No.  of  Session.  How  Designated. 

33  “ l849 

“ Local  “ “ 

34  “ i85° 

“ Local  “ 

35  “ 1851 

“ Local  “ “ 

36  Reg Special  and  Local  Acts  1852 

37  “ Laws  1853 

38  “ “ 1855 

39  “ “ 1857 

Called,  Nov.  20,  1858 Laws  Special  Session  1858 

40  Reg Laws  1859 

41  “ Laws  Regular  Session  1861 

Special,  April  24,  1861 “ Special  “ “ 

42  Reg Laws  1863 

43  “ Laws  Regular  Session  1865 

Called,  Nov.  13,  1865 “ Special  “ “ 

45  Reg Laws  1867 

46  “ Laws  Regular  Session  1869 

Special,  April  8,  1869 “ Special  “ “ 

47  Reg Laws  1871 

Special,  Nov.  13,  1872 Laws  Special  Session  1872 

48  Reg Laws  1873 

49  “ Laws  Regular  Session  1875 

Special,  March  9,  1875 “ Special  “ “ 

50  Reg Laws  Regular  Session  1877 

Special,  March  6,  1S77 “ Special  “ “ 

51  spesci;v;'M';VchV;;"i879  [ Boundin  1 Laws-  <sn 

52  S pecial," M arch  * *8," "1 88 1 | Bound  in  1 vo1 “ 1881 

53  Reg “ i883 

54  Reg................ | Bouncj  jn  j voi “ 188c 

Special,  March  io,  1885  ) 3 

55  ReS “ i887 

56  “ “ 1889 


Revisions. — The  laws  of  1818  are  sometimes  improperly 
called  the  “Revision  of  1818.”  They  contain  only  the  acts 
passed  at  the  second  session  and  a reprint  of  a portion  of 
those  passed  at  the  first  session. 


1824.  This  is  entitled,  “The  Revised  Laws  of  Indiana,  adopted  and 
enacted  try  the  General  Assembly  at  their  eighth  session,  etc.  Arranged 
and  published  by  authority  of  the  General  Assembly.”  Corydon,  Ind. 
1824.  1 vol. 

1831.  Entitled,  “The  Revised  Laws  of  Indiana,  in  which  are  com- 
prised all  such  acts  of  a general  nature  as  are  in  force  in  said  State  ; 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


163 

adopted  and  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  at  their  fifteenth  session, 
etc.  Arranged  and  published  by  authority  of  the  General  Assembly.” 
Indianapolis.  1831.  1 vol. 

1838.  Entitled,  ” The  Revised  Statutes  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
adopted  and  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  at  their  twenty-second  ses- 
sion, etc.  Arranged,  compiled  and  published  by  authority  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.”  Indianapolis.  1838.  1 vol. 

The  revisers  are  not  named  in  the  revisions  of  1824,  1831  and  1838. 

1843.  Entitled,  “The  Revised  Statutes  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
passed  at  the  twenty-seventh  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  etc. 
Printed  and  published  according  to  law.”  The  revisers  were  Sam.  Bigger 
and  Geo.  H.  Dunn.  Indianap9lis.  1843.  1 vol. 

1852.  Entitled,  “The  Revised  Statutes  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
passed  at  the  thirty-sixth  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  etc.  Printed 
and  published  according  to  law.”  James  S.  Hester  prepared  the  annota- 
tions and  superintended  the  arrangement  and  printing.  An  edition  in 
the  German  language  was  also  printed  by  authority  of  the  State.  In- 
dianapolis. 1852.  2 vols. 

1881.  Entitled,  “By  authority  of  the  General  Assembly.  The 
Revised  Statutes  of  Indiana,  etc.  Collated  and  annotated  by  James  S. 
Frazer,  John  H.  Stotsenburg  and  David  Turpie,  commissioners.”  This 
revision,  though  authorized  by  the  General  Assembly  to  be  made,  was  not 
formally  adopted  and  approved  by  it.  Chicago,  111.  1881.  1 vol. 

The  following  editions  of  the  revisions  and  statutes 
were  published  as  private  compilations: 

Gavin  & Hord.  Indianapolis.  1862.  2 vols. 

Gavin  & Hord.  “ 1863.  (3d  vol.)  1 vol. 

Davis  (Supp.  to  Gavin  & Hord).  Ind’ls.  1870.  1 vol. 

Davis  (2d  ed.).  Indianapolis.  1876.  2 vols. 

Downey.  (Supp.  to  1881.)  Cincinnati.  1883.  1 vol. 

E.  B.  Myers  & Co.  This  is  a reprint  of  the  official 
edition  of  the  Revision  of  18S1  (evidently  from  the 
same  plates),  with  subsequent  laws,  and  with  anno- 
tations. Chicago,  Illinois,  1888.  2 vols. 

Elliott.  (Supp. to  1881.)  Indianapolis.  1889.  1 vol. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


164 

Reports  of  State  Officers,  etc. — Since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  State  most  of  the  State  officers,  boards, 
etc.,  have  been  required  to  make  reports.  Many  of  the 
offices  and  boards  heretofore  existing  have  been  discon- 
tinued and  new  ones  are  created  at  nearly  every  session  of 
the  Legislature. 

Prior  to  the  Constitution  of  1851,  when  there  were  an- 
nual sessions  of  the  Legislature,  most  of  these  reports 
were  required  to  be  made  directly  to  the  Legislature,  or  to 
the  Governor,  to  be  by  him  submitted  to  the  Legislature. 
Since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1851  some  of  the 
reports  have  been  required  to  be  made  to  the  Governor 
and  some  to  the  Legislature.  Some  are  required  to  be 
made  for  a period  ending  with  the  end  of  a given  year 
and  some  for  a period  ending  with  the  end  of  the  State 
fiscal  year,  which  is  October  31.  Most  of  them,  since 
1877,  end  with  the  fiscal  year. 

Some  of  these  reports  were  never  printed  at  all.  Some 
were  printed  as  part  of  the  House  and  Senate  Journals. 
Some  were  printed  in  pamphlet  form  only,  and  of  those  so 
printed  some  have  been  bound  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nals and  Annual  Reports.  Those  printed  in  pamphlet, 
and  not  so  preserved,  have,  for  the  most  part,  entirely 
disappeared.  Some  of  the  reports  never  were  included 
in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  but 
have  been  published  and  bound  separately  in  substantial 
binding. 

In  the  exercise  of  its  visitorial  power  over  corporations 
the  General  Assembly  has  frequently  required  reports  to 
be  made  to  it,  or  to  the  Governor,  from  various  corpora- 
tions, such  as  colleges  and  railroad  companies,  and  many 
of  these  have  been  printed,  and  are  contained  in  the 
House  and  Senate  Journals,  and  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  These  are  not  included  in 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 165 

the  following  catalogue,  which  embraces  only  the  reports 
of  State  officers  and  institutions. 

During  the  period  when  the  State  was  engaged  in  its 
extensive  scheme  of  internal  improvement,  there  were  also 
many  boards,  commissioners,  agents,  etc.,  of  works,  some 
of  which  were  of  a local  character,  who  were  required  to 
make  reports  to  the  General  Assembly  or  to  the  Governor. 
Only  such  of  these  as  are  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports  are  included  in  the  following 
catalogue. 

No  reference  is  made  in  the  following  catalogue  to  the 
volumes  and  pages  of  the  House  and  Senate  Journals.  An 
index  making  such  references  would  involve  more  labor 
and  expense  than  would  be  profitable  in  a private  compi- 
lation. But  references  are  made  by  volume  and  page  to 
the  reports  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and 
Annual  Reports.  Only  the  regular  reports  are  so  indexed, 
not  those  made  in  answer  to  calls  by  the  General  Assembly, 
or  by  one  of  its  branches,  for  information  upon  some  special 
subject. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  cite  all  the  statutes  relat- 
ing to  the  offices  embraced  in  the  catalogue.  The  statutes 
are  cited  only  to  show,  in  a general  way,  the  nature  of  the 
office,  its  beginning  and  end,  if  it  has  ceased  to  exist,  the 
character  of  the  reports  required,  and  to  whom  and  when 
they  are  to  be  made. 

Adjutant-General. — The  office  of  Adjutant-General  was 
created  by  the  Constitution  of  1816  (art.  7,  sec.  7),  and 
continued  by  the  Constitution  of  1851  (art.  12,  sec.  2). 
The  duties  of  the  office  were  defined  by  act  January  3, 
1817  (1817,  p.  179,  sec.  10),  and  by  the  militia  law  of 
January  20,  1824,  the  latter  law  (sec.  65)  requiring  him  to 
report  to  the  Governor,  as  commander-in-chief,  annually 
on  December  1.  The  act  of  May  3,  1861  (Spl.  Sess.  1861, 
p.  3),  required  him  to  report  to  the  next  General  Assembly 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


1 66 

in  regard  to  appropriations  made  by  that  act.  The  act, 
April  13,  1885  (1885,  p.  215),  required  him  to  make  bien- 
nial reports.  By  section  32  of  act  March  8,  1889  (1889, 
p.  325),  he  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the 
Governor,  within  one  month  after  October  31,  of  ex- 
penses, proceedings,  etc.,  of  the  militia.  Various  reports 
are  found  in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals,  prior  to  the 
commencement  of  the  Documentary  Journals.  There  are 
included  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports the  following : 


Y EAR. 

Period  Embraced. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1844 

to  Nov.  30,  1844 

1 844-5 > p-  2,  P-  43 

x84S 

Annual  for  year  1845 

1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  35 

1846 

1846 

1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  5 

1847 

1847 

1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  289 

1848 

1848 

1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  299 

i849 

Omitted. 

1850 

U 

1851 

U 

1852 

Special,  April  15,  1852 

1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  353 

■853 

Omitted,  but  rules  and  regula- 

tions  published, 

1853,  Doc.  No. 

00 

t-4 

No  date. 

1 854-5 > P-  2,  P*  531 

1855 

Omitted. 

1856 

No  date. 

1856-7,  P.  1,  p.  393 

1857-1860 

Omitted. 

1861-2 

From  April  15,  1861  to  Dec.  31,  1862 

1862-3,  P.  2,  vol.  1 

P-  329 

1863-4 

From  Jan.  1,  1863  to  Nov.  12,  1864 

1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  473 

1865-9 

Omitted. 

0 

00 

M 

From  April  i,  to  Dec.  31,  1870 

1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc. 

No.  — 

1871-2 

Two  years  ending  Dec.  31,  1872 

1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — 

i873 

One  year  “ “ “ 1873 

1873,  Doc.  No.  6 

I874 

« “ “ “ 1874 

1874-5,  p-  D°c- 

No.  3 

i875 

Omitted. 

1876 

“ “ “ “ 1S76 

1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc. 

No.  11 

1877-8 

Two  years  “ “ “ 1878 

1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc. 

No.  10 

1879-80 

“ “ “ “ 1880 

1880,  P.  1,  Doc. 

No.  4 

INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


167 


The  following  have  been  published  and  bound  sepa- 
rately : 


1865 

1866 
1881-2 
1883-4 
1885-6 
1887-8 


(Nov.  12,  1864,  to  Nov.  13,  1865,)  pamphlet,  1 vol. 
(Nov.  13,  1865,  to  Jan.  26,  1867,)  “ 1 “ 

cloth,  1 “ 

a ^ u 

U jr  u 

u T u 


Besides  the  annual  and  biennial  reports  there  is  a “Re- 
port of  the  Adjutant  General  of  the  State  of  Indiana,” 
in  eight  volumes,  containing  a military  history  of  Indiana 
during  the  rebellion  (1861-1865).  It  is  an  invaluable  col- 
lection of  historical  facts  and  statistics  and  an  enduring 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  compiler,  the  late  Adju- 
tant General  Wm.  H.  H.  Terrell,  Indianapolis,  1865-9. 
8 vols. 

Agent  of  State. — The  office  of  Agent  of  State  was  cre- 
ated by  section  68  of  act  January  28,  1842  (1842,  p.  3). 
(See  Internal  improvement.)  His  duties  were  defined  by 
that  act  and  by  the  act  January  31,  1842(1842,  p.  22),  by 
which  he  was  required  to  report  his  proceedings  to  the 
next  General  Assembly.  By  act  June  17,  1852  (1  R.  S. 
1852,  p.  97),  the  election  of  a “State  Agent”  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  was  provided  for,  and  he  was  required  to 
report  biennially  to  that  body.  An  act  looking  to  the  dis- 
continuance of  the  office  was  passed  December  21,  1865 
(Spl.  S.  1865,  p.  48).  By  act  December  13,  1872  (Spl.  S. 
1872,  p.  27),  the  office  was  discontinued  after  February 
10,  1873,  and  books,  etc.,  transferred  to  Auditor  of  State, 
the  officer  before  known  as  State  Agent  being  succeeded 
by  an  agent  appointed  by,  and  serving  during  the  pleasure 
of,  the  Governor,  Secretary,  Auditor  and  Treasurer  of 
State. 

The  following  regular  reports  are  included  in  the  Docu- 
mentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


1 68 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1842  1842-2,  P.  1,  p.  2. 

1843  1843-4,  P-2,  p.  1, 

1844  1844-5,  P.  1,  p.  83. 

1845  1845-6,  P.  1,  p.  97. 

1846  i 1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  109. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  1,  p.  103. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  5. 

1849  1849-50,  P.  2,  p.  149. 

1850  1850-1,  P.  2,  p.  57. 

1851  1851-2,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

1852  1852-3,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

1853  1:853,  Doc.  No. — . 

1854..., 1854-5,  P.  1,  p.  341JS 

1855  1855,  p-  P-  i* 

1856  1856-7,  P.  1,  p.  3. 

1857  i857»  P.  i,  p.  3. 

1858  1858-9,  P.  1,  p.  197. 

1859  i859-  P.  i,p.  i. 

1860  1860-1,  P.  1,  p.  309. 

1861  1861,  p.  41, 

1862  1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  1,  p.  177. 

1863  1863,  p.  33. 

1864  1864-5,  P-  1,  p.301. 

1865-6 1866-7,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1867-8 1868-9,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1869-70 1870-1,  P.  1,  Doc. No. — 

1871-2 1872-3,  Doc.  No. — . 


Agriculture,  State  Board . — By  act  February  14,  1851 
( 1851,  p.  6),  the  “Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture’’  was 
incorporated  and  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the 
General  Assembly.  It  was  continued  by  act  February  17, 
1852  (1  R.  S.  1852,  p.  98),  and  the  board  required  to  re- 
port also  its  annual  receipts  and  expenditures.  Volume 
19  contains  a general  index  of  volumes  1 to  19,  inclusive. 


The  following  financial  reports  are  included  in  the  Doc- 
umentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports  : 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1874 1874-5,  P-  Doc.  No.  12 

1876 1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  15 

1878 1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  12 

1880 1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  10 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATION'S. 


169 

None  of  the  regular  reports  are  included  in  the  Docu- 
mentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  but  have  been 
published  separately,  beginning  with  volume  1 for  the  year 
1851,  which  is  wrongly  labled  “1852/’  The  following  is 
a complete  list  of  them  : 


Vol.  Year. 

Vol. 

Y EAR 

1 

M 

00 

Cry 

16 

(24  Ann.) 

1874 

2 

1852 

.x7 

25 

44 

1875 

3 

I§53 

18 

26 

u 

1876 

4 

HH 

00 

Ln 

4^ 

1 

Ln 

*9 

27 

u 

1877 

5 

1856 

20 

28 

44 

1878 

6 

i857 

21 

| 

29 

44 

1879 

7 

1858 

22 

3° 

44 

1880 

8 

1859-60 

23 

31 

44 

l88l 

9 

1862-7 

24 

32 

44 

1882 

10 

1868 

25 

33 

44 

1883 

11 

1869 

26 

34 

44 

1884 

12 

1870 

27 

35 

44 

1885 

J3 

1871 

28 

36 

44 

1886 

14 

1872 

29 

37 

44 

1887 

15  (23  Ann.) 

h* 

00 

*<I 

30 

38 

44 

1888 

Attorney  General. — The  office  of  Attorney  General  was 
first  established  by  act  December  31,  1821  (1821,  p.  72). 
Acts  defining  his  duties,  but  not  requiring  any  reports, 
were  passed  February  21,  1855  (1855.  p.  16),  and  June  3, 
1861  (Spl.  Sess.  1861,  p.  14).  The  act  of  March  10,  1873 
(1873,  P-  18),  required  him  to  give  opinions  in  certain 
cases,  and  to  keep  a record  thereof  and  an  account  of 
moneys  collected,  in  a “substantially  bound  book,”  and 
to  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State  annually  on  November 
1,  all  fines  and  forfeitures,  but  no  other  report  was  re- 
quired. The  public  printing  act  of  1885  requires  biennia! 
reports. 

The  following  reports  are  included  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  those  for  the  years  1873, 
1874,  1883-4,  1885-6,  containing  official  opinions  of  the 
Attorney  General  for  those  years. 


170 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Y EAR. 

1873  

1874  

1875  

1:875—6. 

1877-8.. 

1879-80, 

1881-2.. 

1883-4., 

1885-6.. 

1887-8.. 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
1873,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1874-5,  P-  Doc.  No.  9. 
1875,  Doc.  No.  13. 
.1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  8. 
Omitted. 

1880,  P.  1.  Doc.  No.  4. 
Omitted. 

,1884,  Doc.  No.  6. 

.1886,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1888,  Doc.  No.  5. 


The  report  for  1881-2,  containing  official  opinions  for 
those  years,  was  published  in  pamphlet  form. 

Auditor  of  State. — The  office  of  State  Auditor  was  cre- 
ated by  the  Constitution  of  1816  (art.  4,  sec.  24),  and  was 
continued  under  the  name  of  Auditor  of  State  by  Constitu- 
tion of  1851  (art.  6,  sec.  1).  The  act  December  11,  1816 
(1817,  p.  143),  defined  the  duties  of  the  “Auditor  of  Public 
Accounts,”  and  required  him  to  make  annual  reports  to  the 
General  Assembly  during  the  first  week  of  their  session, 
and  as  often  as  required.  The  act,  January  25,  1841 
(1841,  p.  124),  required  him  to  report  annually  to  the  Gov- 
ernor by  November  1.  By  1 R.  S.  1852,  p.  147,  he  was 
required  to  make  biennial  reports  to  the  General  Assembly, 
but  the  act  February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  again  re- 
quired annual  reports  to  the  Governor  on  October  31. 
Since  1839,  reports  are  for  years  ending  October  31. 
Those  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Documentary 
Journals  are  contained  in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals. 
Abstracts  of  these  are  generally  published  at  the  end  of  the 
Session  Laws.  The  following  are  included  in  the  Docu- 
mentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


171 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1835  1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — 

1836  (Sen.  J.  1836-7,  p.  84).  Omitted. 

1837  1837-8,  Doc.  No.  — 

1838  1838-9,  p.  172. 

1839  Omitted. 

1840  1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  29. 

1841  1841-2,  P.  2,  p.  21. 

1842  1842-3,  P.  2,  p.  41. 

1843  1843-4,  p-  i.  P-  51* 

1844  1844-5,  p-  P-  i* 

1845  1845-6,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  1,  p.  23. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  1 17. 

1849  1849-50,  P.  1,  p.  17. 

1850  1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1851  ; 1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  49. 

1852  i852~3>  p-  P-  49- 

1853  1853,  Doc-  No-  — 

1854  i854_5’  p-  P-  l- 

1855  i855^  p-  P-  265- 

1856  1856-7,  P.  1,  p.  1 19. 

1857  1857,  P.  1,  p.  109. 

^58 1858-9,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1859  r859>  p-  P-  65- 

1860  1860-1,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1861  1861,  p.  187. 

j862 1862-3,  p-  P-  257* 

1863  !863,  p.  101. 

1864  1864-5,  p-  1 » P-  4°5- 

^65 1865-6,  p.  143. 

1866  1866-7,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1867  1867-8,  p.  121. 

1868  1868-9,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1869  1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1870  1S70-1,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1871  1871,  Doc.  No.  8. 

1872  1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1873  S73,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1874  1874-5,  D°c*  No.  7. 

1875  S75,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1876  1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  6. 

1877  % 1 877,  Doc.  No.  8. 


172  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1878  1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  6. 

1879  1879,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1880  1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1881  1881,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1882.... 1882,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1883  1 883,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1885  ,,1885,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1886  1886,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1887  1887,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1888  1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  4. 


Bank , State. — The  bank  of  Vincennes  was  made  a 
“State  Bank  ” by  act  January  1,  1817  (1817,  p.  185),  and  re- 
quired to  make  a statement  of  its  condition  and  that  of  its 
branches,  to  the  Governor,  and  General  Assembly,  “if 
required.”  Reports  are  contained  in  the  House  and  Sen- 
ate Journals.  There  was  trouble  and  litigation  between 
the  State  and  this  bank,  and  an  act  establishing  a “State 
Bank  of  Indiana  ” and  branches  was  passed  January  28, 
1834  (1834,  P*  I2)>  providing  that  it  should  continue  until 
January  1,  1859.  The  act  provided  that  the  president  and 
four  directors  should  be  elected  by  the  General  Assembly, 
and  that  the  board  of  directors  should  report  annually  to 
the  General  Assembly  the  condition  of  the  bank  and  its 
branches.  It  also  created  a sinking  fund.  (See  this  title.) 
By  act  February  6,  1837,  (1837,  P-  3)>  one-half  of  the  sur- 
plus revenue  received  from  the  United  States  pursuant  to 
act  of  Congress,  passed  June  23,  1836,  was  to  be  applied 
to  subscriptions  by  the  State  to  the  capital  stock  of  the 
branches  of  the  State  bank.  By  act  January  10,  1849 
(1849,  p.  18),  it  was  provided  that  no  more  additional 
branches  should  be  established  under  the  act  after  the  year 
1851.  The  act  of  February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  re- 
quired the  board  to  report  annually  to  the  Governor  on 
October  31. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


173 

By  act  March  3,  1855  (1855,  p.  229),  there  was  estab- 
lished a new  institution,  styled  the  “Bank  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,”  and  branches,  and  the  board  of  directors  was 
required  to  report  to  the  General  Assembly  at  each  session 
the  condition  of  the  bank  and  its  branches.  The*act  Jan- 
uary 19,  1865  (Reg.  Ses.  1865,  p.  98),  provided  for  wind- 
ing up  the  branches. 

The  reports  of  the  old  State  Bank  of  Indiana  prior  to 
the  commencement  of  the  Documentary  Journals  are  con- 
tained in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals.  The  following 
reports  of  the  State  Bank  and  of  the  Bank  of  the  State  are 
contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports : 

Reports  of  State  Bank — 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1S35 1835-6,  Docs.  Nos.  — . 

1836  1836-7,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1837  1837-8,  Docs.  Nos. — . 

1838  1838-9,  p.  56. 

1839  1839-40,  P.  2,  pp.  79,  1 17. 

1840  1840-1,  P.  1,  pp.405,  413. 

1841  1841-2,  P.  1,  p.  97. 

1S42 1842-3,  P.2,  pp.  163,  299. 

1843  i843-4>  p-  PP-  275>  34 r- 

1844  1844-5,  p-  PP-  io9>  i63- 

1845  1845-6,  P.  1,  pp.  107,  155  . 

1846  1S46-7,  P.  1,  pp.  125,  263. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  1,  pp.  159,  231. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  261. 

1849  1849-50,  p-  P-  ll7- 

1850  1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  273. 

1851  1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  203. 

1852  1852-3,  P.  1,  p.  229. 

1853  1853,  Doc.  No.—. 

1854  1854~5,  P.  i,  P-429;  p-  2>  P-  791- 

1855  1855,  P.  1,  p.  217. 

1856  1856-7,  P.  i,p.  261. 

1857  1857,  P.  2,  p.  341. 

1858  1858-9,  P.  1,  p.  365. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


J74 

Bank  of  State — 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1856  1856-7,  p.  1,  P.  4ii. 

1857  Omitted. 

1858  1858-9,  P.  1,  p.  357. 

1859...* 1859,  P.  1,  p.  347. 

1860  1860-1,  P.  2,  p.  507. 

1861  Omitted. 

1862  1862-3,  P*  P-  485. 

1863  Omitted. 

1864  1864-5,  P*  2>  P-  201. 


Blind  Institute. — By  act  January  19,  1846  (1846,  p.  66), 
trustees  were  appointed  to  provide  for  maintenance  and 
education  of  blind  of  this  State  in  the  institutions  at  Col- 
umbus, Ohio,  and  Louisville,  Ky.  The  board  made  a re- 
port dated  December,  1846  (Doc.  J.  1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  25). 
A further  report  as  to  the  Indiana  blind  in  Ohio  and  Ken- 
tucky institutions  was  made  December  11,  1847  (Doc.  J. 
1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  343).  By  act  January  27,  1847  (1847,  p. 
41),  provision  was  made  for  establishment  at  Indianapolis 
of  an  institution  to  be  known  as  the  “Indiana  Institute  for 
the  Education  of  the  Blind, and  created  a board  of  trustees 
which  was  required  to  report  annually  to  the  General 
Assembly.  This  provision  was  continued  in  act  February 
13,  1851  (1851,  p.  140),  but  by  1 R.  S.  1852,  p.  161,  the 
board  was  required  to  report  to  the  Legislature  biennially. 
By  act  February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  the  board  was  re- 
quired to  report  to  the  Governor  annually,  on  October  31. 
This  provision  has  not  been  changed  by  subsequent  legis- 
lation. The  following  reports  are  contained  in  the  Doc- 
umentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  and  are  regularly 
numbered : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


1 75 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND.  A.  R. 

i 

*847 

2 

1848 

1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  33. 

3 

^49 

4 

1850 

5 

1851 

1851-2,  P.  2,  p.231. 

6 

18152 

1852-3,  P.  2,  p.  105. 

7 

i853 

8 

• 

• 

• 

to 

CO 

►H 

i854~5i  P.  2,  p.  729. 

9 

i855 

1855,  P.  2,  p.  161. 

IO 

1856 

1 1 

1857 

1857,  P.  2>  P-  1. 

12 

1858 

!3 

i859 : 

H 

i860 

*5 

1861 

16 

1862 

17 

1863 

18 

1864 

19 

1865 

1865-6,  p.  71. 

20 

1866 

21 

1867 

22 

1868 

23 

1869 

24 

1870 

25 

1871 

26 

1872 

27 

1873 

28 

1874 

29 

1875 

3° 

1876 

31 

1877 

32 

1878 

33 

1879 

34 

1880 

35 

1881 

36 

1882... 

37 

1883 

38 

1884 

39 

1885 

40 

1886 

41 

1887 

42 

1888 

1888,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  3. 

INDIANA  STATE  PUBLIC  A TIONS. 


176 

Canal  Fund  Commissioners. — The  Canal  Fund  and  Canal 
Fund  Commissioners  were  part  of  the  legislation  for  the 
construction  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  (See  this 
title.)  Additional  duties  were  imposed  upon  the  commis- 
sioners by  the  Internal  Improvement  Act.  (See  this  title.) 
By  act  February  6,  1837  (1837,  p.  66),  it  was  provided  that 
the  Board  of  Canal  Fund  Commissioner  should  thereafter 
be  designated  as  “Fund  Commissioners  of  Indiana.” 
(See  this  title.)  The  reports  of  the  Canal  Fund  Commis- 
sioners are  contained  in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals 
prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Documentary  Journals. 
There  are  contained  in  the  latter  the  following  : 


Year.  Doc.J. 

1835  1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1836  1836-7,  Doc.  No.  — . 


Centennial  Commissioner . — Mr.  E.  T.  Cox,  State  Geol- 
ogist, was  appointed  by  Governor  Hendricks  to  represent 
Indiana  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia  in 
1876.  His  report  is  contained  in  Doc.  J.  1876-7,  P.  1, 
Doc.  No.  13. 

Charities , Board  of  State. — A “Board  of  State  Chari- 
ties” was  established  by  act  February  28,  1889  P- 

51),  and  required  to  make  and  print  annual  reports  for  use 
of  Legislature.  None  have  yet  been  printed. 

Colonization  Board. — A State  Board  of  Colonization  was 
established  by  1 R.  S.  1852,  p.  222,  but  no  report  was  re- 
quired. Reports  were  made,  however,  some  in  response 
to  legislative  resolutions.  The  following  reports  are  con- 
tained in  the  Documentary  Journals  : 


INDIA NA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


177 


Date.  Doc.  J. 


February 

21,  1S52. 

To  H.  R 

1851-2,  P.  2,  p.  463. 

January 

29*  i853- 

46 

S 

*852-3,  p-  2>  P-  393- 

May 

29,  1854. 

44 

Gov.' 

i855- 

44 

H.  R 

*854-5,  p-  2>  P-  *°47- 

January 

i5»  i857- 

44 

G.  A 

1 856-7*  p-  2*  P-  329- 

i8S9* 

44 

66 

1858-9,  P.  2,  p.  157. 

December 

30,  i860. 

44 

66 

March 

S,  1864. 

64 

66 

1863,  p.  489. 

Commissary  General . — The  office  of  Commissary  Gen- 
eral was  created  by  Constitution  of  1851  (art.  12,  sec.  2), 
and  duties  defined  by  acts  May  31  and  June  3,  1861  (Spl. 
Sess.,  1861,  pp.  85,  87),  but  no  reports  were  required. 
One  report,  from  May  29,  1861,  to  November  2,  1861,  is 
contained  in  Doc.  J.  1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  1,  p.  801. 

Custodian  of  Public  Buildings . — The  office  of  “Custo- 
dian of  Public  Buildings”  was  created  by  act  of  March  5, 
1889  (1889,  p.  1 14),  requiring  reports  to  Governor  on  the 
last  days  of  March,  June  and  September,  and  annually  on 
December  31  ; also  bienially  to  Legislature.  No  reports 
have  yet  been  published. 

Deaf  and  Diwib  Institution. — A report  in  favor  of  estab- 
lishing an  institution  for  the  education  of  deaf  mutes  was 
made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  January  31,  1838 
(Doc.  J.  138-9,  p.  657).  The  act  February  13,  1843  (1843, 
p.  75),  provided  for  raising  funds  for  the  erection  of  a 
“Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum.”  The  act  January  15,  1844 
(1844,  p.  36),  provided  for  establishment  of  a temporary 
asylum  at  Indianapolis,  and  created  a board  of  “Trustees 
of  Indiana  Asylum  for  Educating  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,” 
requiring  them  to  report  to  next  General  Assembly.  By 
act  January  19,  1846  (1846,  p.  19),  the  asylum  was  per- 
manently located  in  Marion  county  and  the  trustees  were 
required  to  report  annually  to  the  General  Assembly.  Bi- 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLIC  A TIONS. 


178 

ennial  reports  were  required  by  1 R.  S.  1852,  p.  243,  §19, 
but  act  February  5,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  required  reports 
to  be  made  annually  to  Governor  on  October  31.  The 
provision  as  to  reports  has  not  been  changed  by  sub- 
sequent legislation.  By  act  March  6,  1879  (Reg*  Sess. 
1879,  p.  4),  the  institution  is  called  the  “Institution  for  the 
Education  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.”  The  reports  are  all 
included  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports and  are  regularly  numbered. 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

i844 

lS44-5>  p*  P-  !34* 

2 

i845 

1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  85. 

3 

1846 

1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  95. 

4 

lS47 

1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  5. 

5 

1848 

6 

• 

• 

• 

ON 

CO 

M 

1 849-50,  P.  2,  p.  35. 

7 

1850 

8 

1851 

1851-2,  P.  2,  d.  163. 

9 

i852 

1852-3,  P.  2vp.  197. 

10 

i853 

1 1 

i854 

1854-5,  p-  2,  P-  565* 

12 

i855 

i855,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

*3 

i856 

1856-7,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

*4 

i857 

1857,  P.  2,  p.  47. 

1 5 

i858 

1 858-9,  p-  2,  p.  1. 

16 

i859 

1859,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

*7 

i860 

1S60-1,  P.  2,  p.  65. 

iS 

1861 

!9 

1862 

1862-3,  p-  h P-  409* 

20 

1863 

1863,  p.  277. 

21 

1864 

1864-5,  P.  1,  p.  565. 

22 

1865 

1865-6,  p.  27. 

23 

1866 

1866-7,  Doc.  No.  6. 

24 

1867 

25 

186S 

26 

1 869 

27 

1S70 

28 

1871 

29 

1872 

30 

i873 

# 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


179 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

31 

1874 

32 

1875 

33 

1876 

1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  8. 

34 

1877 

35 

1878 

36 

1879 

1879,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  2. 

37 

1880 

1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  9. 

38 

l88l 

1881,  Doc.  No.  10. 

39 

18S2 

1882,  Doc.  No.  8. 

40 

1883 

41 

1884 

1884,  Doc.  No.  11. 

42 

i8Ss 

43 

1886 

44 

1887 

45 

1888 

Equalization  Board. — A State  Board  of  Equalization  was 
created  by  section  15,  act  February  12,  1841  (1841,  p.  3), 
but  was  abolished  by  act  January  13,  1842  (1842,  p.  126). 
Provision  for  a State  Board  was  made  by  section  8,  act 
May  28.  1852  (1  R.  S.  1852,  p.  273),  and  in  several  subse- 
quent acts,  but  no  report  was  required  until  the  tax  law  of 
December  21,  1872  (Spl.  Sess.  1872,  p.  57),  by  the  284th 
section  of  which  the  Governor  and  other  State  officers 
named  were  constituted  a “State  Board  of  Equalization, ” 
and  required  to  meet  in  the  year  1873,  and  annually  there- 
after. Prior  to  this  time,  and  after  the  act  of  December 
21,  1858,  State  boards  had  met  only  once  in  every  five 
years.  The  act  also  provided  that  a report  of  their  pro- 
ceedings should  be  published  annually  in  pamphlet  form 
(sec.  296).  By  sec.  133  of  tax  law,  March  29,  1881  (1881, 
p.  6 11),  the  board  was  required  to  meet  on  third  Monday 
in  June  each  year,  an  annual  report  of  its  proceedings  to 
be  published  (sec.  145).  The  reports  from  1873  to  1888, 
inclusive,  are  contained  in  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Auditor  of  State,  except  the  report  for  1886,  which  seems 
to  be  published  separately,  and  is  found  in  Doc.  J.  1886, 


I So  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

Doc.  No.  4.  The  reports  prior  to  1873  are  contained 
in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  as 
follows  : 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

*852 1852-3,  P.  1,  p.  193. 

1859 lS59,  P.  1,  p.  239. 

1864 1864-5,  P*  P-  424. 


1869  (Auditor’s  Report) 1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

Feeble-Minded  Youth. — The  act  March  15,  1879  (1879, 
p.  76),  established  an  “Asylum  for  Feeble-Minded  Chil- 
dren,” to  be  located  at  the  Soldiers’  Orphans’  Home,  near 
Knightstown,  abolished  the  office  of  trustees  of  the  latter 
as  a separate  board,  provided  that  one  board  of  trustees 
should  act  for  both,  and  required  the  board  to  report  an- 
nually to  the  General  Assembly,  on  October  31.  Subse- 
quent acts  were  passed,  not  changing  provision  as  to  re- 
ports. The  act  March  7,  1887  (1887,  p.  46)  established 
the  institution  as  a separate  one,  to  be  located  near  Ft. 
Wayne,  under  the  name  of  the  “Indiana  School  for  Feeble- 
Minded  Youth,”  and  required  the  board  of  trustees  to  make 
annual  reports  on  October  31,  and  that  they  should  be  filed 
in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  should  be  printed. 
The  reports  made  by  the  board  to  the  year  1886,  inclusive, 
embrace  the  affairs  of  both  the  Asylum  for  Feeble-Minded 
Children  and  the  Soldiers’  Orphans’  Home.  They  are 
regularly  numbered  and  included  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports. 


No. 

Year. 

Doc.  T.  and  A.  R. 

1. 

1879 

1879, 

P.  2. 

Doc.  No.  10. 

2. 

1880 

1S80, 

P.  2, 

Doc.  No.  10. 

3- 

1881 

1881, 

Doc. 

No.  12. 

4- 

1882 

1S82, 

Doc. 

No.  10. 

5- 

1883 

1883, 

Doc. 

No.  11. 

6. 

1884 

Doc. 

No.  13. 

7- 

1885 

1885, 

Doc. 

No.  7. 

8. 

1886 

1886, 

Doc. 

No.  12. 

9- 

1887 

1887, 

Doc. 

No.  11. 

10. 

1888 

1888, 

P.  2, 

Doc.  No.  4. 

INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS.  x8i 

Fisheries  Commissioner. — The  act  March  26,  1881  (1881, 
p.  516),  created  the  office  of  “Commissioner  of  Fisheries,” 
and  required  him  to  report  to  the  next  General  Assembly 
succeeding  his  appointment.  None  of  the  reports  are  in- 
cluded in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports 
prior  to  the  one  for  1888.  One  by  Calvin  Fletcher,  called 
the  “First  Annual,”  containing  103  pages,  was  published 
by  the  State  in  1883  in  pamphlet  form.  Another,  by  Enos 
B.  Reed,  was  published  in  the  Indianapolis  Peo-ple,  Jan- 
uary 22,  1887. 

1888 Doc.  J.  1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  9. 

Fund  Commissioners . — This  office  was  a continuation  of 
that  of  Canal  Fund  Commissioners.  (See  this  title.) 
Former  laws  were  repealed,  and  one  fund  commissioner 
provided  for  by  act  February  13,  1841  (1841,  p.  214),  and 
he  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Treasurer 
of  State  and  to  Governor  and  General  Assembly  when 
required.  The  office  was  abolished  by  the  act  January 
28,  1842,  repealing  the  internal  improvement  act.  (See 
this  title.)  The  following  reports  are  included  in  the 
Documentary  Journals  : 


Year.  Doc.  J. 

1837  1837-8,  (2  Docs.)  Nos.  — . 

1838  1838-9,  p.  516. 

1839  1839-40,  P.  1 (after  p.  126). 

1840  1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  202;  P.  2,  p.  53. 

1841  1841-2,  P.  1,  p.  1. 


Geology  and  Natural  Resour ces.~J$y  act  February  6, 
1837  (1837,  p.  108),  the  Governor  was  authorized  to  ap- 
point a “Geologist  for  the  State  of  Indiana,”  to  make  a 
survey  and  report  to  the  Legislature.  The  act  was  to  ex- 
pire with  the  year  1838,  unless  re-enacted  by  the  next 
Legislature.  It  was  not  so  re-enacted  at  the  next  ses- 


1 82  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

sion,  but  a similar  act  was  passed  February  18,  1839 
(1839,  P*  54)*  Another  geological  survey  was  directed  by 
act  March  5,  1859  (*859,  P*  II2)>  to  be  made  under  the 
supervision  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

The  act  March  5,  1869  (Reg.  Sess.  1869,  P*  22)>  cre" 
ated  a “Department  of  Geology  and  Natural  Science, ” 
in  connection  with,  and  under  the  control  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture,  and  required  the  State  Geologist 
to  make  annual  reports  to  that  board,  but  provided  that 
2500  copies  of  his  report  should  be  printed  and  bound 
separately. 

By  act  March  29,  1879(1879,  p.  193),  the  departments 
of  geology  and  statistics  were  combined  under  the  name 
of  the  “Indiana  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Geology,”  and 
annual  reports  were  required  to  be  made  to  the  Governor. 

By  act  April  14,  1881  (1881,  p.  523),  a separate  “De- 
partment of  Geology  and  Natural  History”  was  estab- 
lished, to  be  under  the  charge  of  the  “State  Geologist,” 
who  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Governor. 

By  act  February  26,  1889  (1889,  p.  44),  all  former  laws 
relating  to  this  department  were  repealed,  the  offices  of 
Mine  Inspector  and  Oil  Inspector  abolished,  and  a new 
department  created,  styled  the  “Department  of  Geology 
and  Natural  Resources,”  consisting  of  four  divisions  : 

1.  Geology  and  Natural  Sciences. 

2.  Mines  and  Mining. 

3.  Mineral  Oils. 

4.  Natural  Gas. 

The  head  of  the  department  was  styled  “Director,”  and 
he  was  authorized  to  appoint  chiefs  of  divisions,  to  report 
to  him,  and  he  to  report  annually  to  the  Governor,  sub- 
mitting also  the  reports  of  the  chiefs  of  divisions,  8,000 
copies  of  the  reports  to  be  printed. 

Under  the  acts  1837  and  1839  David  Dale  Owen,  the 
State  Geologist,  made  two  reports,  one  for  year  1837  and 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


183 

one  for  1838.  The  first  is  contained  in  Documentary  Jour- 
nal 1837-8,  and  also  in  Documentary  Journal  1838-9,  p. 
260,  and  in  Documentary  Journal  1852-3,  P.  1,  p.  153.  The 
one  for  1838  is  contained  in  Documentary  Journal  1838-9, 
p.  204.  Both  were  reprinted  in  1859,  anc^  bound  in  one 
volume  as  parts  first  and  second.  He  also  made  a report 
for  1859-60,  published  separately  in  a volume  of  368  pages, 
a condensation  of  which  is  contained  in  Documentary 
Journal  1860-1,  P.  2,  p.  161.  A short  report  to  the  Gov- 
ernor by  E.  T.  Cox,  dated  December  11,  1874,  1S  con~ 
tained  in  Documentary  Journal  1874-5,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  11. 
The  foregoing  are  all  that  are  contained  in  the  Documen- 
tary Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  There  is  also  in  the 
report  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  for  1853,  p.  299, 
a report  of  a “Geological  Survey  of  the  State  of  Indiana,” 
by  R.  T.  Brown,  “Geological  Agent”  of  the  board.  Besides 
those  above  mentioned,  the  following  have  been  published 
in  separate  volumes  : 


No. 

1  

2  

3.  4 

5  

6  

7 

8,  9,  10 


11 

12 

h3 

14 

*5 


Year.  Vols. 

.1869,  with  maps  separately  bound i 


“ separately  bound i 

“ in  pocket i 

“ “ “ I 

a u u j 

1876-7-8,  with  maps  in  pocket i 

1879-80,  included  in  2d  Annual  Report  of  Depart- 
ment of  Statistics  and  Geology. 


18S1 1 

1882 1 

1882,  with  maps 1 

1884,  “ « 1 

1885-6 1 


.1870,  “ 

1871-2  “ 

1873  “ 

1874  “ 

1875  “ 


Tables  of  contents  of  the  foregoing  from  vol.  1 to  vol.  13,  inclusive, 
are  contained  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Indianapolis  Public  Library  for  1885, 
pp.  366-7. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


184 

Governor — Messages,  etc. — The  messages,  proclama- 
tions and  inaugural  addresses  of  the  Governors  are  con- 
tained in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals,  and  some  of 
them  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports. 

Reprieves,  Commutations  and  Pardons. — By  the  Con- 
stitution of  1851  (Art.  5,  § 17),  the  Governor  is  required  to 
report  to  the  General  Assembly  at  its  next  meeting  each 
case  of  reprieve,  commutation  or  pardon  granted.  There 
are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual 
Reports  the  following  reports  of  this  kind  : 


Years.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1853-4 i854“5>  p-  h P-  486. 

1855-6 1856-7,  P.  1,  p.  312. 

1857- 8 1858-9,  P.  2,  p.  184. 

1858- 9 1860-1,  P.  1,  p.  373. 

1861-2 1852-3,  P.  2,  v.  2,  pp.  1017,  1033. 

1863-4 1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  365. 

1865-6 Omitted. 

1867-8 “ 

1869-70 1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1871-2 Omitted. 

1873-4 1874-5,  P.  i,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1875-6 1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1877-8 1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1879-80 1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1881-2 1884,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1883-4 “ Doc.  No.  2. 

1885-6 1886,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1887-8 1888,  P.  i,  Doc.  No.  2. 


Contingent  Expenses,  etc. — Appropriations  nave  been 
made  from  time  to  time  to  the  Governor  for  contingent  and 
office  expenses,  for  which  he  has  been  sometimes  required 
to  report  by  the  acts  making  the  appropriations  or  by  leg- 
islative resolution.  The  following  reports  of  this  kind  are 
contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


185 


Date. 

January  20,  1863 
January  8,  1879 
January  10,  1881, 


Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 
1862-3,  P.  2,  V.  I,  p.  33. 
1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  2. 
1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  6. 


Health  Board. — By  section  3 of  the  act  of  March  29, 
1879  (*879,  p.  i93)>  creating  the  department  of  Statistics 
and  Geology,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  to  collect  statistical  information  and  details  relat- 
ing to  “social  and  sanitary  condition,  vital  statistics,  mar- 
riages and  deaths.”  In  discharge  of  this  duty  the  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Geology  has  included  in 
his  reports,  vol.  1,  p.  456,  and  vol.  2,  p.  322,  the  first  and 
second  annual  reports  of  the  Indiana  State  Health  Com- 
mission, which  was  not,  however,  as  its  name  would  imply, 
a State  institution. 

A “State  Board  of  Health”  was  created  by  the  act 
March  7,  1881  (1881,  p.  37),  which  required  reports  to  the 
Governor  prior  to  November  15,  of  the  proceedings  for  the 
year  ending  on  the  preceding  October  31.  The  provision 
as  to  reports  has  not  been  changed  by  subsequent  legisla- 
tion. None  of  the  reports  are  contained  in  the  Docu- 
mentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  but  they  have  been 
published  regularly  in  separate  volumes  from  No.  1 (1882) 
to  No.  7 (1 888),  in  all,  7 vols. 

Horticultural  Society. — The  act  March  10,  1875  (Reg. 
Sess.  1875,  P*  81),  provided  for  the  incorporation  of  a 
“State  Horticultural  Society,”  and  the  making  of  Annual 
Reports  “to  the  Governor  to  be  by  him  presented  to  the 
next  General  Assembly.”  The  regular  reports  of  this 
society  begin,  however,  with  the  one  for  the  year  1862, 
and  most  of  the  volumes  prior  to  the  act  of  1875  were 
printed  by  the  society  at  its  own  expense,  although  some 
of  them  purport  to  have  been  printed  by  the  State  Printer. 
By  the  public  printing  act  of  1885,  the  reports  are  required 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


1 86 

to  be  printed  biennially,  but  they  have,  nevertheless,  con- 
tinued to  be  printed  annually,  up  to  and  including  the  one 
for  the  year  1887.  Financial  reports  of  the  society  are 
contained  in  the  following  Documentary  Journals  and  An- 
nual Reports  : 


Years.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1876 1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  16. 

1878  1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  13. 

1879  1879,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  7. 

1880  1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  11. 

1881  1881,  Doc.  No.  15. 


The  only  regular  reports  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports  are  two : 


10  1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

11  1871,  Doc.  No.  9 (lastin  vol.) 


All  the  regular  reports,  from  No.  1 (1862),  to  No.  27  (1887),  in  all  27 
volumes,  have  been  separately  printed  and  bound. 

No.  28  (for  1888)  is  bound  with  the  Agricultural  Report  for  1888,  be- 
ginning at  page  534. 

Indianapolis , Agent  op  State  for. — By  act  January  6, 
1821  (1821,  p.  44),  commissioners  were  appointed  to  lay 
off  town,  etc.,  for  the  “ permanent  seat  of  government/’ 
the  town  to  be  “called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Indian- 
apolis.” The  act  also  provided  for  election  by  General 
Assembly  of  an  agent  to  attend  to  sale  of  lots,  etc. 
By  act  January  15,  1844(1844^.  103),  the  books,  etc.,  were 
transferred  to  the  Auditor  of  State.  See  also  1 R.  S.  1851, 
p.  150.  Several  reports  made  by  this  agent  are  con- 
tained in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals.  The  following 
are  included  in  the  Documentary  Journals  : 

Dec.  1,  1835 1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

Dec.  29,  1840 1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  493. 

Insane  Hospitals. — The  annual  report  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  for  1852  (Doc.  J.  1852-3,  P.  2,  p.  153),  contains 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS.  187 

a history  of  the  original  hospital  and  the  prior  legislation 
in  relation  to  it. 

A joint  resolution  was  adopted  February  13,  1843  (Loc. 
L.  1843,  p.  188),  requesting  the  Governor  to  communi- 
cate information  with  a view  to  establishing  a “lunatic 
asylum.”  An  act  to  raise  funds  for  erecting  such  asylum 
was  passed  January  15,  1844  (1844,  p.  50),  and  on  January 
13,  1845  (1845,  p.  58),  commissioners  were  appointed  to 
select  and  purchase  a site.  The  commissioners  having 
selected  a site  near  Indianapolis,  they  were  authorized  to 
erect  buildings  for  an  institution  named  the  “ Indiana 
Hospital  for  the  Insane,”  and  were  required  to  report  an- 
nually to  the  General  Assembly.  Act  January  19,  1846 
(1846,  p.  1 16).  The  act  February  15,  1848(1848,  p.  83), 
provided  for  election  of  commissioners,  who  were  re- 
quired to  make  annual  reports  to  the  General  Assembly. 
By  act  February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  the  commissioners 
were  required  to  report  annually  on  October  31  to  the 
Governor.  This  provision  as  to  reports  has  remained  un- 
changed by  subsequent  legislation. 

The  act  March  11,  1875  (Reg*  Sess.  1875,  P*  84),  pro- 
vided a Provisional  Board  of  Commissioners  to  superin- 
tend erection  of  a new  building,  to  be  designated,  when 
completed,  the  “Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Depart- 
ment for  Women, r the  old  buildings  to  be  known  there- 
after as  “Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  Department 
for  Men.” 

The  act  March  7,  1883  (1883,  p.  164),  provided  for  the 
construction  of  three  additional  hospitals  and  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  same  bv  boards  of  commissioners  under 
the  same  general  regulations  governing  the  old  hospital. 
By  act  March  1,  1889  (1889,  p.  68),  separate  boards  of 
trustees  were  provided  for  each  of  the  additional  hospitals, 
one  of  which  is  located  near  Logansport  and  known  as 


i88 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


the  “Northern  Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,”  one  near 
Richmond,  and  one  near  Evansville,  and  were  required 
to  make  biennial  reports  covering  the  two  years  ending 
October  31,  and  to  submit  the  same  to  the  Governor  on  or 
before  December  1 preceding  each  regular  session  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

The  reports  of  the  old  hospital  are  all  included  in  the 
Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  but  are  er- 
roneously numbered. 

Reports  of  Old  Hospital : 


Y EAR. 

No. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

i845 

1. 

1845-6,  P,  2,  p.  173- 

1846 

2 

1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  53. 

i847 

3 

1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  53. 

1848 

4 

ON 

00 

M 

5 

l849-50,  P-  2,  p.  85. 

1850 

6 

185O-I,  P.  I,  p.  233. 

1851 

(7) 

1851-2,  P.2,  p.115. 

1852 

(8) 

1852-3,  P-  2,  p.  153. 

i853 

(9) 

i854 

(10) 

1854-5,  P.2,  p.653. 

i855 

(11) 

1855,  P-  2,  P-  41* 

i856 

(12) 

1856-7,  P-  2,  p.  85. 

i857 

(13) 

1857,  P-  2,  p.  IO5. 

1858 

... 

(14) 

1858-9,  P-  2,  p.  77- 

i859 

1 1 

05) 

1859,  P-  2,  P-  73- 

i860 

12 

(16) 

1860-I,  P.  2,  p.  25. 

1861 

• •• 

(17) 

1861,  p.  IOI. 

1862 

H 

(18) 

1862-3,  P.  I,  p.  217. 

1863 

1 5 

(19) 

1863,  p.  317. 

1864 

16 

(20) 

1864-5,  p.  369. 

1865 

17 

(21) 

1865-6,  p.  III. 

1866 

18 

(22) 

1866-7,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1867 

l9 

(23) 

1867-8,  Doc.  No.  7,  p.  251. 

1868 

20 

(24) 

(4  44  44 

1869 

21 

(25) 

1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

w 

00 

0 

22 

(26) 

1S70-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

W 

00 

►H 

23 

(27) 

1871,  Doc.  No.  4. 

CO 

24 

(28) 

1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — 

i873 

25 

(29) 

1873,  Doc*  No.  12. 

INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


189 


Year. 

No. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

oc 

>-< 

26 

(3°) 

1875 

27 

(31) 

1876 

... 

(32) 

00 

** 

• •• 

(33) 

00 

00 

30 

(34) 

i879 

31 

(35) 

1880 

32 

(36) 

1881 

33 

(37) 

1882 

34 

(38) 

1883 

35 

(39) 

1883,  Doc.  No.  8. 

CO 

00 

36 

(4°) 

CO 

00 

Cn 

37 

(40 

1886 

38 

(42) 

1— » 

00 

00 

39 

(43) 

00 

00 

00 

40 

(44) 

1888,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  1. 

Reports  of  Provisional  Board, 

Department  for  Women. — 

July  1,  1 

876... 

Dec.  31, 

1876. 

Oct.  31, 

1878  (from  March  20,  1875) 

1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  6. 

Report  of  Superintendent  of  Construction,  Department  for 

Women. — 

Dec.,  1880  (for  1879-80) 1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  7. 

Reports  of  Additional  Hospitals. — A report  by  the  Com- 
missioners, in  pamphlet  form  (126  pages),  was  made  in 
1886,  but  was  not  included  in  the  Documentary  Journal 
for  that  year.  It  covers  a period  from  organization  of 
board,  April  11,  1883,  to  December  7,  1886. 

Insurance  Commission . — Pursuant  to  a concurrent  reso- 
lution (Laws  1879,  p.  261),  a commission  was  constituted 
to  codify  the  insurance  laws  and  report  a bill  to  the  next 
General  Assembly.  The  commission  made  a report  to  the 
next  session,  which  is  not  contained  in  the  House,  Senate, 
or  Documentary  Journals  of  1881,  but  which  was  printed 
in  pamphlet  form.  The  report  covers  25  pages,  and  the 
accompanying  bill  36  pages. 


190 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Insurance  Commissioner. — Mr.  John  A.  Finch  was  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  Hendricks  as  Special  Commissioner  in 
1875,  and  also  in  1876  to  attend  the  National  Convention 
of  Insurance  Commissioners  held  in  those  years.  His  re- 
port, dated  January  1,  1877,  is  found  in  Documentary 
Journal  1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  14. 

biternal  Improvement ; Board,  etc. — One  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  congressional  enabling  act  (April  19,  1816),  for 
the  organization  of  the  State  of  Indiana  out  of  the  Indiana 
Territory  was,  that  “5  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the 
lands  lying  within  said  territory  * * * shall  be  re- 

served for  making  public  roads  and  canals,  of  which 
three-fifths  shall  be  applied  to  those  objects  within  the  said 
State,  under  the  direction  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  etc.” 
This  condition  was  accepted  by  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1816,  and,  in  anticipation  of  the  receipts  of  the 
3 per  cent,  fund,  the  State  early  began  the  work  of  inter- 
nal improvement. 

In  1821  the  sum  of  $100,000,  “of  the  fund  commonly 
called  the  3 per  cent.  fund,”‘was  appropriated  for  the  con- 
struction of  certain  “State  roads, therein  named  ; various 
commissioners  were  appointed  to  supervise  the  works  and 
the  office  of  “Agent  of  the  3 per  cent,  fund”  was  created. 
(Laws  1882,  p.  152.)  In  1824  an  appropriation  out  of  the 
3 per  cent  fund  was  made  for  the  improvement  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Wabash  river.  (Spl.  Acts  1824,  p.  82.) 
In  1828  the  construction  of  the  Wabash  and  Miami  (after- 
wards called  the  Wabash  and  Erie)  Canal,  was  author- 
ized. Laws  1828,  p.  10.)  In  1829  further  legislation  was 
had  respecting  the  State  roads  and  the  duties  of  the  Agent 
of  the  3 per  cent,  fund,  who  was  required  to  report  annu- 
ally to  the  Legislature.  (Laws  1829,  p.  98.)  In  1830  the 
New  Albany  and  Vincennes  Turnpike  Road  was  incor- 
porated and  the  State  Treasurer  authorized  to  subscribe 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


l9l 

for  ioo  shares  of  stock  for  the  State.  (Laws  1830,  p.  60.) 
In  1831  a commissioner  was  appointed  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a portion  of  the  Michigan  road.  (Spl.  Acts  1831, 
P.  119.) 

There  was  a prospect  of  getting  some  more  money  from 
the  United  States  government,  arising  out  of  the  antic- 
ipated division  of  the  surplus  revenue,  which  was  after- 
wards made  (1836),  and  various  other  acts  were  passed 
for  the  construction  of  canals,  railroads,  and  other  public 
works,  and  the  creation  of  the  offices  of  Canal  Commis- 
sioners, etc.,  and  finally,  in  1836,  by  act  January  27  (1836, 
p.  6),  a vast  general  scheme  of  internal  improvement  was 
hatched.  This  act,  commonly  known  as  the  “Internal 
Improvement  Act,”  provides  for  the  construction,  or  for 
surveys  and  estimates  with  a view  to  the  construction  of 
the  following  public  works  : 

1.  White  Water  Canal,  and  a connection  between  it 
and  the  Central  Canal  by  canal,  if  practicable,  if  not,  by 
railroad. 

2.  Central  Canal. 

3.  An  extension  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  River  to  Terre  Haute,  and 
thence  to  connect  with  the  Central  Canal. 

4.  A railroad  from  Madison,  by  way  of  Indianapolis, 
to  Lafayette. 

5.  A McAdamized  turnpike  road  from  New  Albany  to 
Vincennes. 

6.  A railroad,  if  practicable,  if  not  a McAdamized  road, 
from  Jeffersonville,  by  way  of  New  Albany  and  Salem,  to 
Crawfordsville. 

7.  The  removal  of  obstructions  to  navigation  of  the 
Wabash  River,  between  its  mouth  and  Vincennes. 

8.  The  Erie  and  Michigan  Canal  or  Railroad. 

The  board  was  authorized  to  put  under  contract  and 
construct  that  part  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  lying 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


192 

between  the  Tippecanoe  River  and  the  Ohio  line.  Pro- 
vision was  also  made  for  the  issue  of  State  bonds  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  the  Lawrenceburg  and  Indianapolis 
Railroad. 

The  act  provided  for  the  appointment  of  six  persons, 
who,  together  with  the  three  existing  Canal  Commission- 
ers, were  to  constitute  a “Board  of  Internal  Improve- 
ment.” The  act  also  created  a “fund  for  internal  im- 
provement,” and  imposed  additional  duties  upon  the  Canal 
Fund  Commissioners.  The  board  was  required  to  report 
annually  to  the  Legislature,  and,  also,  when  required,  to 
the  Governor.  By  an  amendatory  act,  passed  February  6, 
1837  (1837,  P-  66),  it  was  provided  that  the  board  of  Canal 
Fund  Commissioners  (afterwards  reduced  to  one  commis- 
sioner) should  be  designated  as  the  “Fund  Commissioners 
of  Indiana.”  Surveys  were  directed  for  the  purpose  of 
extending  the  Erie  and  Michigan  Canal,  and  constructing 
the  East  Fork  Canal  (Laws,  1837,  PP-  73>  74)>  and  various 
other  public  works  were  begun  or  contemplated.  In  1839, 
by  act  February  8 (1839,  P*  3)>  the  number  of  members  of 
the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement  was  reduced  to  three, 
and  the  board  was  authorized  to  take  charge  of  all  the  pub- 
lic works  of  the  State.  The  act  also  created  the  office  of 
“Chief  Engineer”  of  the  State. 

The  whole  system  soon  broke  down,  and  by  act  January 
28,  1842  (1842,  p.  3),  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement 
and  the  offices  of  Fund  Commissioner  and  Chief  Engineer 
were  abolished  (Sec.  65). 

The  repealing  act  provided  for  continuing  the  construc- 
tion, by  private  corporations,  of  several  of  the  works  al- 
ready begun,  and  for  a commissioner  to  take  charge  of  the 
Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  east  of  Lafayette  (provision  hav- 
ing before  been  made  for  the  completion  of  the  canal  west 
of  thatplacej,  and  the  Erie  and  Michigan  Canal,  and  to 
perform  all  the  duties  in  relation  thereto  before  required  of 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


193 

the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement.  State  Agents  were 
also  appointed  for  the  Madison  and  Indianapolis  Rail- 
road, the  Whitewater  Canal,  and  the  New  Albany  and 
Vincennes  road.  The  act  (Sec.  68)  also  created  the 
office  of  “Agent  of  the  State,”  to  whom  was  transferred 
the  various  duties  before  imposed  upon  the  Fund  Com- 
missioner. 

The  State  being  now  deeply  in  debt,  in  order  to  settle 
with  its  creditors  and  complete  the  Wabash  and  Erie 
Canal  to  Evansville,  the  acts  of  January  19,  1846  (1846, 
p.  3),  and  January  27,  1847  (1847,  p.  3),  were  passed,  the 
first  of  which,  commonly  known  as  the  “Butler  bill,”  pro- 
viding for  the  funded  debt  of  the  State,  a “Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,”  and  its  completion 
to  Evansville. 

The  proposition  of  Charles  Butler,  Esq.,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  bondholders,  upon  which  the  Butler  bill  was 
based,  and  various  messages,  reports  and  other  documents 
in  relation  thereto,  will  be  found  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nal of  the  30th  session  (1845-6).  In  these  documents, 
and  in  those  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  for 
subsequent  years,  particularly  in  the  reports  of  the  Auditor 
of  State,  will  also  be  found  much  information  as  to  the  ex- 
penditures upon  and  receipts  from  the  various  public  works 
and  the  final  disposition  of  them  by  the  State. 

Many  reports  are  found  in  the  House,  Senate  and  Docu- 
mentary Journals  made  by  the  different  Boards,  Commis- 
sioners, Superintendents,  Engineers,  etc.,  appointed  in 
pursuance  of  the  acts  above  mentioned,  and  also  divers 
reports  made  by  them  and  by  the  Board  of  Internal  Im- 
provement, in  response  to  resolutions  of  the  House  or 
Senate,  or  calls  by  the  Governor.  The  regular  annual 
reports  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement  were  six  in 
number,  and  were  as  follows  : 


*94 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Date.  Doc.J. 

Dec.  17,  1836 1836-7,  Doc,  No.  — . 

Dec.  15,  1837 1837-S,  Doc.  No.  — . 

Dec.  21,  1838 1838-9,  p.  102. 

1839 1839-40,  P.  1,  p.  11. 

Nov.  30,  1840 1840-1,  P.  2,  p.  3. 

Dec.  6,  1841 1841-2,  P.  1,  p.  53. 


Kankakee  River  Commissioners . — The  “Board  of  Com- 
missioners  for  the  removal  of  the  limestone  ledge  in  the 
Kankakee  river,”  was  created  by  act  March  7,  1889  (1889, 
p.  291),  requiring  the  board  to  report  annually  to  the  Gov- 
ernor. No  reports  have  yet  been  published. 

Librarian,  State . — A State  Library  was  established  by 
act  February  11,  1825  (1825,  p.47),  and  Secretary  of  State 
made  ex-officio  State  Librarian  and  required  to  make  an- 
nual reports  to  the  General  Assembly.  The  act  of  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1841  (1841,  p.  1 14),  provided  for  election  of  Li- 
brarian by  Legislature.  Various  duties  in  addition  to  care 
of  the  State  Library  have  been  imposed  upon  the  Libra- 
rian by  different  statutes.  See  Laws  1841,  p.  114;  Laws 
1889,  P*  58- 

The  provision  for  Annual  Reports  to  the  Legislature 
was  retained  until  the  sessions  became  biennial,  when  the 
Librarian  was  required  to  report  to  it  biennially.  1 R.  S. 
1852,  p.  348.  This  has  continued  to  be  the  law.  The  re- 
ports of  the  Librarian  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Documentary  Journals  are  contained  in  House  and  Senate 
Journals  and  a few  are  contained  in  the  latter  which  are 
omitted  from  the  former,  as  noted  below. 

There  are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and 
Annual  Reports  the  following  : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


x95 


Year. 

1835  

1836  (S.  J.  1836-7,  p.  28).. 

1837  r 

1838  

1839* 

1840  

1841  

1842  (S.  J.  1841-2,  p.  461) 

1843  

1844  (S.  J.  1844-5,  p.  48).. 

1845  

1846  

1847  

1848  

1849  

18150 

1851  

1852  

1853  

1854  

1 855-6 

1837  to  i860 

1861-2 : 

1863  to  1872 

1 873-4 

1875-6 

1877-8  (2  Annuals) 

1879-80  (2  Annuals) 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
i835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 
Omitted. 

1837- 8,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1838- 9,  p.  27. 


.Omitted. 

.1841-2,  P.  2,  p.  13. 

.Omitted. 

»< 

44 

.1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  9. 

.1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  143. 
.1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  279. 
.1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  303. 
.i849-5°,  P.  2,  p.  235. 
.1850-1,  P.  2,  p.  269. 
.1851-2,  P.  2,  p.  155. 
.1852-3,  P.  2,  p.  381. 
.Omitted. 

•i854-5»  p*  2.  P-  955- 
.1856-7,  P.  2,  p.  173. 
.Omitted. 

•1862-3,  P.  1,  p.  145. 
.Omitted. 

.1874-5,  p- 1->  Doc.  No.  10. 
. 1 876—7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  9- 
1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  9. 
1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  16. 


^Report  made  but  not  printed.  See  report  of  Philip  Sweetzer  of  House 
Committee,  contained  in  Doc.  J.  1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  527. 


The  biennial  reports  for  the  following  years  have  been 
omitted  from  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports, but  have  been  printed  separately  in  pamphlet  form  : 


1881-2. 

1883-4. 

1885-6. 

1887-8. 


Live  Stock  Sanitary  Commission . — The  “ State  Live 
Stock  Sanitary  Commission”  was  created  by  act  March 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


196 

9,  1889  (1889,  p.  380),  and  commission  required  to  make 
annual  reports  to  the  Governor,  to  be  by  him  submitted  to 
next  regular  or  called  session  of  the  General  Assembly. 
No  reports  have  yet  been  published. 

Loan  Commissioners. — A “Board  of  Loan  Commission- 
ers” was  created  to  meet  the  expenses  incident  to  the  re- 
bellion by  act  May  13,  1861  (Spl.  Sess.  1861,  p.  16).  The 
act  required  the  board  to  make  quarterly  reports  to  the 
Auditor  of  State,  but  a report  was  also  made  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, reporting  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  from 
date  of  organization  to  date  of  report  (January  9,  1863). 
The  report  is  contained  in  Doc.  J.  1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  2,  p.  993. 

Michigan  Road  Commissioner . — See  Internal  Improve- 
ment, etc.  Several  acts  have  been  passed  relating  to  the 
Michigan  road  and  from  time  to  time  commissioners  have 
been  appointed  whose  duties  related  either  to  what  were 
called  the  “Michigan  road  lands,”  or  to  the  construction 
of  the  road  or  some  part  of  it.  See  Spl.  Acts  1831,  p. 
1 19;  Loc.  L.  1836,  p.  348.  By  the  last  act  it  was  pro- 
vided that  after  February  20,  1837,  the  office  ot  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Michigan  Road  should  be  abolished,  but  by 
subsequent  acts  it  was  continued  for  specified  purposes  for 
a few  years  after  that  time.  By  act  January  15,  1844 
(1844,  p.  103),  the  books,  etc.,  of  the  office  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Auditor  of  State.  See,  also,  1 R.  S.  1852, 
p.  ^o. 

The  following  reports  of  commissioners  are  contained 
in  the  Documentary  Journals  : 


Year.  Doc.  J. 

1836  1836-7,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1837  1837-8,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1838  1838-9,  p.  649. 

1839  1839-40,  p.  131. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


197 

Mine  Inspector. — The  act  March  8,  1879  (J^79’  P-  19), 
created  the  office  of  “Mine  Inspector,”  and  required  an- 
nual reports  to  the  Governor.  It  was  abolished  by  act 
February  26,  1889.  See  Geology,  etc. 

The  following  reports  are  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports  ; 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

1879-80 

2 

1S81 

1882 

3 (4) 

1883 

4 (5) 

1884 

6 

1S85 

7 

1886 

9(1  Bien.) 

1887-S 

New  Albany  and  Vincennes  Turnpike  Road. — See  In- 
ternal Improvement.  The  company  for  the  construction 
of  this  road  was  incorporated  by  act  January  29,  1830 
(1830,  p.  60),  and  the  State  Treasurer  authorized  to  sub- 
scribe 100  shares  for  the  State.  It  is  one  of  the  public 
works  included  in  the  Internal  Improvement  act.  By  act 
February  22,  1840  (Loc.  L.  1840,  p.  148),  it  was  taken 
out  of  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement 
and  put  in  charge  of  superintendents,  who  were  required 
to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Board  of  Internal  Improve- 
ment or  Treasurer  of  State  on  or  before  October  t in  each 
year.  A subsequent  act  required  reports  to  Auditor  of 
State  (1845,  p.  57). 

The  following  reports  are  included  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  : 


Year.  Doc.J. 

1845  1S45-6,  P.  2,  p.  77. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  85. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  323. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  290. 

1849  1849-50,  P.  2,  p.  231. 

1850  1850-1,  P 1,  p.193. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


198 

Normal  School . — The  act  December  20,  1865  (Spl.  Sess. 
1865,  p.  140),  authorized  establishment  of  the  “Indiana 
State  Normal  School,”  and  required  Board  of  Trustees  to 
report  biennially  to  Legislature,  and  to  Governor  on  or 
before  first  Monday  in  January  when  Legislature  is  not  in 
session.  The  public  printing  act  of  1885  requires  biennial 
reports  only.  There  is  some  confusion  in  the  numbering 
of  the  reports.  In  the  one  of  1875  the  President  states 
that  it  is  the  “sixth  annual  since  its  organization.”  After 
that,  with  two  exceptions,  the  reports  are  regularly  num- 
bered. 

The  following  are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nals and  Annual  Reports : 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

• •• 

1870 

... 

1871 

... 

1872 

... 

1873-4 

6 

j875 

7 

1876 

8 

i>. 

00 

M 

9 

1878 

(10) 

1879 

1 1 

1880 

12 

1881 

13 

1882 

H 

1883 

IS 

1884 

16 

1885 

(1  Bien.) 

1886 

1886,  Doc.  No.  8. 

(2  “ ) 

1887-8 

Oil  Inspector. — The  office  of  “State  Inspector  of  Oils” 
was  created  by  act  March  31,  1879  (1879,  P*  1 62),  requir- 
ing him  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Governor  on  second 
Monday  in  January.  The  office  was  abolished  bv  act  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1889  (1889,  p.  44).  See  Geology,  etc.  The 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


199 


following  reports  are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Jour 
nals  and  Annual  Reports  : 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

18S0  (From  June  6,  1879,  to  Dec.  31,  1880). .1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  8. 

1881  (From  June  13,  1881,  to  Dec.  31,  1881). .1881  Doc.  No.  14. 

1882  1882,  Doc.  No.  11. 

1883  Omitted. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  15. 

1885  1885,  Doc.  No.  9. 

1886  1886,  Doc.  No.  14. 

1887  Omitted. 

1888  1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  8. 


Prison  South . — The  Southern  Prison  at  Jeffersonville 
was  located  by  act  January  9,  1821  (1821,  p.  24),  which 
created  a “Board  of  Managers,”  provided  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  agent  to  superintend  the  prison,  and  required 
him  to  report  annually  to  the  General  Assembly.  The  act 
February  17,  1838  (R.  S.  1838,  p.  572),  authorized  the  Gov- 
ernor to  appoint  a Superintendent  and  a Visitor,  who  were 
to  report  respectively  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and  to  the 
Governor. 

The  erection  of  a new  State  prison  at  the  same  place 
was  authorized  by  act  January  31,  1842  (1842,  p.  98).  An 
act  passed  January  16,  1846  (Loc.  L.  1846,  p.  35),  pro- 
vided for  election  by  Legislature  of  a Warden,  he  to  re- 
port annually  to  the  Legislature,  and  the  appointment  by 
the  Governor  of  a Chaplain.  By  act  May  27,  1852  (1  R. 
S.  1852,  p.  391),  it  was  provided  that  the  officers  should 
consist  of  the  lessee,  warden,  chaplain  and  physician,  the 
warden  to  report  to  the  General  Assembly  at  each  session. 
By  two  acts  passed  March  3,  1855  (1855,  pp.  195,  197), 
the  government  of  the  prison  was  vested  in  three  Direct- 
ors, they  to  elect  the  warden.  The  first  act  also  provided 
for  the  appointment  of  a “Moral  Instructor,”  and  abolished 
the  office  of  Visitor.  The  last  act  required  the  Directors 


200 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


to  report  annually  to  the  Governor  in  December.  Former 
laws  were  repealed,  and  a general  law  passed  Februar}^, 
1857  (1857,  p.  103),  but  provision  as  to  Directors’  reports 
remained  unchanged. 

After  the  act  of  1859,  providing  for  the  Northern  Prison, 
the  old  prison  was  known  as  the  “Prison  South.” 

Reports  of  Visitors,  Superintendents,  etc.,  of  Old  State 
Prison. — The  separate  reports  of  the  Visitors,  etc.,  of  the 
Old  State  Prison,  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Doc- 
umentary Journals,  are  found  in  the  House  and  Senate 
Journals.  There  are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nals the  following  : 


Y EAR. 

1838  (Supts.)  

1539  “ 

1540  (Visitor) 

1841  (Supts.) 

1S42  (Visitor)  

1843  (Vis.  and  Supt.)  

1844  “ “ 

1S45  “ “ 

1846  (Visitor)  

1848  “ 

1850  “ 

1854  (Vis.  and  Chaplain) 


Doc.  J. 

1 838-9,  p.  530. 

.1839-40,  P.  2,  p.  154. 
.1839-40,  P.  1,  p.  135. 
.1841-2,  P.  2,  p.  503. 
.1842-3,  P.  1,  p.  79. 

•T  843-4’  P‘  *.  P*-  291. 

.1844-5,  p-  2>  pp.  51.  59- 
• 1 845-6,  P . 2,  pp.  19,  27,  279. 
.1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  135. 
.1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  105. 
.1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  209. 

•x 854-5.  p.  U PP-  5°9.  5X5- 


Reports  of  Wardens,  Directors,  etc. — The  reports  of  the 
Wardens,  Directors,  etc.,  begin  with  the  one  for  1846,  and 
generally  include  reports  of  the  chaplains  and  physicians. 
The  numbering  of  the  reports  got  into  confusion,  and  was 
abandoned  after  1864.  From  1856  to  1876  the  reports  are 
for  the  years  ending  December  15  ; after  that  for  years 
ending  October  3 r.  The  following  are  contained  in  the 
Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports: 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


201 


Old  State  Prison 

No.  Year. 

1 1S46 

2 1847 

3 is4s ;.. 

4 ^49 

5 1850 

6 1851 

7 1852 

8 1853 

8 (9)  *854 

...  (10)  1855 

...  (11)  1 S c6 

...  (12)  1857 

12  (13)  1858 

*3  (14)  i859 

Prison  South — 

No.  Year. 

14  (15)  i860 

15  (16)  1861 

16  (17)  1862 

17  (iS)  1863 

18  (19)  1864 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  37. 
.1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  I 15. 
1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  69. 
,1849-50,  P.  2,  p.  l8l. 

1850- I,  P.  I,  p.  159. 

1851- 2,  P.  2,  p.  271. 

■ lS52— 3,  P.  1,  p.  273.  ' 
, i S53,  Doc.  No.  — . 

lS54-.Si  p-  2>  P-  969- 

1855,  P.  2,  p.  201. 

1856-7,  P.  2,  p.  205. 
1857,  P.  2,  p.  221. 
1858-9,  P.  2,  p.  189. 
1859,  p-  2>  P-  TI3 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
1860-I,  P.  2,  p.  245. 
1861,  p.  519. 

1862-3,  p-2>  v-  2>  P-  933- 
1863,  p.  349. 

1864-5,  P.  1,  p.  793. 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1865  to  1867 Omitted. 

1868  1867-8,  Doc.  No.  8. 

“ Supplement 1868-9,  Doc.  No. — . 

1869  1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1870  1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1871  1871,  Doc.  No.  6. 

1872  1S72-3,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1873  .....1S73,  Doc.  No.  8. 

1874  1874-5, P.  2>  Doc-  No.  10. 

1875  1:875,  Doc.  No.  18. 

1876  1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  14. 

1877  1877,  Doc.  No.  15. 

1878  187S-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  13. 

1879  1 S79,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  13. 

1880  1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  3. 


* 


202 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

i 8S  i 1881,  Doc.  No.  18. 

1882  1882,  Doc.  No.  14. 

1883  1883,  Doc.  No.  15. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  18. 

1885  1:885,  Doc.  No.  12. 

1886  1886,  Doc.  No.  17. 

1887  1887,  Doc.  No.  8. 

1888  1888,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  7. 


Prison  North. — The  act  March  5,  1859  (J^59»  P*  I35)> 
provided  for  erection  of  the  Prison  North,  and  made  the 
laws  in  relation  to  Old  State  Prison  applicable  to  the  new 
one.  The  reports  are  for  the  years  ending  December  15 
to  1876,  inclusive  ; after  that  they  are  for  years  ending 
October  31.  After  1864  they  are  not  numbered.  The  fol- 
lowing are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and 
Annual  Reports : 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

i860 

1 860-1,  P.  2,  p.  439. 

2 

l86l. ,..., 

l86l,  p.  399. 

3 

1862 

1862-3,  p-  2>  v*  P*  49* 

4 

1863 

1863,  p.  401. 

5 

1864 

1864-5,  P-  p.  605. 

Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1865  to  1868 Omitted. 

1869  1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1870  1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1871  1871,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1872  : 1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1873  1873,  Doc.  No.  9. 

1874  1 874—5,  p-  2>  Doc.  No.  11. 

1875  1^875,  Doc.  No.  17. 

1876  1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  13. 

1877  1877,  Doc.  No.  14. 

1878  1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  12. 

1879  1879,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  14. 

1880  1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  2. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


203 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1881  1881,  Doc.  No.  19. 

1882  1882,  Doc.  No.  15. 

1883  1883,  Doc.  No.  16. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  19. 

1885  1885,  Doc.  No.  13. 

1886  1886,  Doc.  No.  18. 

1887  1887,  Doc.  No.  7. 

1888  1888,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  8. 


Public  Instruction , Superintendent. — Reports  in  favor  of 
appointing  a superintendent  of  common  schools  were  made 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  sessions  of  1838-9 
(Doc.  J.  1838-9,  p.  587),  and  1840-1  (Doc  J.  1840-1,  P.  1, 
p.  513).  By  R.  S.  1843,  p.  324,  the  office  of  “Superintend- 
ent of  Common  Schools”  was  created  and  the  Treasurer 
of  State  was  required  to  perform  the  duties  as  a part  of  the 
duties  of  his  office,  and  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

The  Constitution  of  1851  (art.  8,  sec.  8)  provided  for  the 
election  of  a “State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion,” and  various  laws  have  since  been  enacted  defining 
his  duties.  By  1 R.  S.  1852,  pp.  448-9,  he  was  required  to 
make  annual  reports  to  the  General  Assembly  when  in 
session,  when  not,  to  the  Governor.  By  sections  127,  128, 
act  March  11,  1861  (Reg.  Sess.  1861,  p.  68),  he  was  re- 
quired to  make  biennial  reports  to  General  Assembly 
when  in  regular  session,  and  in  years  when  not,  to  make 
brief  reports  in  January  to  the  Governor.  The  public  print- 
ing act  of  1885  provides  for  the  publication  of  the  biennial 
reports  only. 

The  reports  of  the  Treasurer  of  State  as  ex-officio  Super- 
intendent of  Common  Schools  were  regularly  made  and 
are  included  in  the  Documentary  Journals,  except  the  one 
for  1848.  This  was  made  to  the  House  (House  J.  1848-9, 
p.  47),  but  was  not  printed  in  either  the  House  or  Docu- 
mentary Journal  for  that  year. 


204 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


The  reports  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual 
Reports  except  as  indicated  below.  The  3d  and  subse- 
quent biennial  reports  are  for  the  years  ending  August  31. 

Reports  of  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools — 


Year.  Doc.  J. 

1843  1843-4,  P.  1,  p.  325. 

1844  1844-5,  P.  1,  p.  77. 

1845  1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  101. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  1 19. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  349. 

1848  Omitted. 

1849  1849-5°’  p-  2,  P-  243- 

*850 1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  225. 

lS5i 1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  1. 


Reports  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. — 


No. 

Biennial. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

... 

1852 

1852-3,  P-  2,  p.  245. 

2 

... 

■853 

5 

... 

1854 

i854-5’  P-  2’  P-  817.’ 

4 

... 

^55 

1855,  P-  2>  P-  233- 

i 

... 

1856 

1856-7,  p-  1,  P-  435* 

6 

... 

1857 

1857,  p- 1,  p-  293. 

7 

... 

1858 

8 

... 

1859 

1859,  p-  2,  p.  193- 

9 

... 

i860 

10 

... 

l86l 

1862-3,  p-  2,  v-  !,  P*  *49 

1 1 

1 

l86l-2 

12 

... 

1863 

1863,  p.  457. 

l3 

2 

1863-4 

x4 

3 

1865-6 

os) 

... 

1867 

1867-S,  p.  243. 

16 

4 

1867-8 

(17) 

... 

1869 

18 

5 

1869-70 

r9 

... 

1871 

20 

6 

1871-2 

* 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLIC  A TIONS. 


205 


No. 

Biennial. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

(21) 

• • • 

1873 

.1873,  Doc.  No.  5. 

22 

7 

1873-4 

.1874-5,  P-  2>  Doc.  No.  1. 

23 

♦ . • 

1875 

. 1875,  Doc.  No.  4. 

24 

8 

1875-6 

.1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  1. 

25 

... 

i- 

00 

M 

,.1877,  Doc.  No.  4. 

26 

9 

1877-8 

.1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  1. 

27 

• • • 

1879 

.1879,  P-  2>  Doc.  No.  4. 

28 

10 

1879-80 

..Omitted. 

29 

• • • 

1881 

,.1881,  Doc.  No.  4. 

30 

1 1 

1881-2 

.Omitted. 

31 

... 

1883 

.1883,  Doc.  No.  4. 

The 

following  biennial  reports,  not  contained  in  the 

Documentary  Journals  and  Annual 

Reports,  have  been 

published  separately: 

No. 

Biennial. 

Y EAR. 

28 

10 

1879-80. 

3° 

1 1 

l88l-2. 

32 

12 

1883-4. 

34 

J3 

1885-6. 

36 

H 

1887-8. 

Purdue  University . — By  act  March  6,  1865  (Reg.  Sess. 
1865,  p.  106),  the  State  accepted  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  Congress,  passed  July  2,  1862,  donating  lands  for  agri- 
cultural and  mechanical  colleges,  and  created  a board  of 
“Trustees  of  the  Indiana  Agricultural  College.”  A further 
act  was  passed,  May  6,  1869  (Spl.  Sess.  1869,  p.  24),  accept- 
ing donation  made  by  John  Purdue,  locating  the  institu- 
tion in  Tippecanoe  county,  under  the  name  of  “Purdue 
University,”  and  changing  the  name  of  old  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Agricultural  College  to  “Trustees  of  Purdue  Uni- 
versity.” John  Purdue  was  given  visitorial  powers,  and 
authorized  to  report  to  General  Assembly  at  any  session 
thereof. 

A history  of  the  institution  is  given  in  the  report  of  the 
secretary  for  1874. 


20  6 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


By  the  public  printing  act  of  1885,  the  reports  are  to  be 
published  biennially,  the  catalogues  annually.  The  num- 
bering of  the  reports  begins  with  the  one  for  the  year  1874, 
the  institution  not  having  been  formally  opened  until  Sep- 
tember of  that  year.  The  following  are  contained  in  the 
Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports  : 


No. 

(1) 


(3) 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12  (1  B.) 
14  (2  “) 


Y EAR. 

1870 

1874  

1875  (Treasurer’s  Report) 

1875-6 

1877  

1878  

1879  

1880  

1881  

1882  

1883  

1884  

1885-6 

1887-8 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
,1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 
1874-5,  p-  2 ) Doc.  No.  4. 
,1875,  Doc.  No.  7. 

.1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  4. 
1877,  Doc.  No.  7. 

,1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  4. 
.1879,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  8. 
.18S0,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  15. 
.1881,  Doc.  No.  6. 

.1882,  Doc.  No.  5. 

.1883,  Doc.  No.  6. 

.1884,  Doc.  No.  8. 

.1886,  Doc.  No.  7. 

.1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  11. 


Quarter- Master  General. — The  office  of  Quarter-Master 
General  was  created  by  Constitution  of  1816  (art.  7,  sec. 
7),  and  continued  by  Constitution  of  1851  (art  12,  sec.  2). 
His  duties  have  been  defined  in  the  various  militia  laws. 
See  also  acts  May  31  and  June  3,  1861  (Spl.  Sess.  1861, 
pp.  85,87). 

The  following  reports  are  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports : 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1844  1844-5,  p-  2>  P-  35- 

1845  1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  43. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  2,  p.  17. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  319. 

1848-1849 Omitted. 

1850 1850-1,  P.  2,  p.  277. 

1851-1857 Omitted. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


207 


Y EAR. 

1858 

1859-1860 

1861  (April  29,  1861,  to  May  1,  1862) 

1862  (May  30  to  October  13,  1862)... 

1863  

1864  

1865-73 

^74 

1875  

1876  

1877-1878 

1879-1880 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 
,1858-9,  P.  2,  p.  261. 
Omitted. 

1862-3,  p-  2,  v.  1,  p.  649. 
1862-3,  P.  2,  V.  1,  p.  681. 
.Omitted. 

,1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  201. 
.Omitted. 

.1874-5,  p-  Doc.  No.  4. 
.Omitted. 

.1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  12. 
.1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  11. 
.1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  5. 


Reform  School for  Boys. — Provision  was  made  by  Con- 
stitution of  1851  (art.  9,  sec.  2)  for  a house  of  refuge  for 
juvenile  offenders,  but  no  law  was  enacted  until  the  act 
March  8,  1867  (1867,  p.  137),  which  provided  for  establish- 
ment of  the  “House  of  Refuge  for  Juvenile  Offenders,”  re- 
quiring the  Board  of  Control  to  report  to  Governor  annu- 
ally on  or  before  January  1.  By  act  February  23,  1883 
(1883,  p.  19),  the  name  was  changed  to  “Indiana  Reform 
School  for  Boys,”  and  the  government  vested  in  a Board 
of  Control,  which  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  to 
the  Governor  on  October  31. 

The  reports  are  regularly  numbered  and  after  the  year 
1876  are  for  years  ending  October  31.  They  are  all,  ex- 
cept the  2d  and  6th,  contained  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nals and  Annual  Reports. 


Reports  of  House  of  Refuge — 


No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

1867 

(,2) 

1868 

3 

1869 

(4) 

1870 

5 

1871 

(6) 

1872 

7 

co 

00 

M 

208 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


No 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

8 

i874 

9 

i875 

10 

1876 

1 1 

1877 

12 

1878 

l3 

1879 

H 

1880 

15 

1881 

16 

1882 

Reports 

of  Reform 

School  for  Boys — 

No. 

Y EAR. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

17 

1883 

18 

1884 

l9 

1885 

20 

1886 

21 

1887 

22 

1888 

Rejorm  School J or  Girls , etc. — The  “Indiana  Reforma- 
tory Institution  for  Women  and  Girls”  was  established  by 
act  May  13,  1869  (Spl.  Sess.  1869,  p.  61),  and  government 
vested  in  a Board  of  Managers  which  was  required  to  re- 
port annually  to  the  Governor  on  or  before  January  1. 
The  act  also  required  Governor  to  appoint  a Board  of  Vis- 
itors, to  make  at  least  two  visitations  a year,  and  report 
to  him.  By  act  March  9,  1889  (1889,  p.  322),  the  name 
was  changed  to  “Reform  School  for  Girls  and  Women’s 
Prison.”  The  reports  subsequent  to  1876  are  for  years 
ending  October  31.  They  are  all  contained  in  Document- 
ary Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  and  are  regularly  num- 
bered. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


209 


No. 

Year. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

(1) 

1870 

1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  — . 

2 

1871-2-3 

1873,  Doc.  No.  10. 

3 

i874 

1874-5,  P-  2>  D°c.  No.  13. 

4 

i875 

1 875,  Doc.  No.  14. 

5 

1876 

1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  11. 

6 

i877 

1 S77,  Doc.  No.  11. 

7 

1878 

1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  10. 

8 

i879 

1879,  P-  2>  Doc.  No.  11. 

9 

1880 

1880,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  4. 

10 

1881 

1 1 

1882 

12 

1883 

!3 

1884 

H 

1885 

1 885,  Doc.  No.  10. 

!5 

1886 

16 

1887 

17 

1888 

Secretary  of  State. — The  office  of  Secretary  of  State  was 
created  by  Constitution  of  1816  (art.  4,  sec.  21),  and  con- 
tinued by  Constitution  of  1851  (art.  6,  sec.  1).  By  Consti- 
tution of  1816  he  was  to  make  reports  to  either  house  of 
the  General  Assembly  “when  required.”  The  act  January 
25,  1841  (1841,  p.  124),  required  him  to  make  annual  re- 
ports to  the  Governor  by  November  1.  By  act  May  20, 
1852  (1  R.  S.  1852,  p.  435),  he  was  required  to  “report  rel- 
ative to  the  official  acts  and  proceedings  of  the  Governor 
to  either  house  of  the  General  Assembly  “when  required 
by  such  house,”  and  also  to  the  Governor  whenever  re- 
quired, upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  his  office.  ” 
The  act  February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120),  required  him  to  re- 
port annually  to  the  Governor  on  October  31.  The  public 
printing  act  of  1885  requires  biennial  reports.  The  reports 
are  not  numbered.  Several  are  found  in  the  House  and 
Senate  Journals.  The  following  are  contained  in  the  Doc- 
umentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports : 


210  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1835 1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1838  183S-9,  p.  25. 

1839  i839-4°>  P-  2,  p.  77. 

1840  1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  475. 

1841  1841-2,  P.  2,  p.  2. 

1842  1842-3,  P.  2,  p.  1. 

1843  1 843-4,  P.  1,  p.  9. 

1844  1844-5*  p-  B P-  81. 

1845  1845-6,  P.  1,  p.  81. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  77. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  1,  p.  151. 

1848  * 1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  1 13. 

1849  1849-50,  P.  1,  p.  77- 

1850  1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  151. 

1851  1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  194. 

1852  Omitted. 

1853  1853,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1854  1854-5,  p-  2*  P-  II57* 

1855  1855,  P.  1,  p.  257. 

1856  1856-7  P.  1,  p.  395. 

1857  1857,  P.  2,  p.  289. 

1858-1859 Omitted. 

i860 1860-1,  P.  2,  p.  497. 

1861-1870 Omitted. 

1871  1871.  Doc.  No.  10. 

1872  Omitted. 

1873  1873,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1874  1874-5,  P-  B Doc.  No.  6. 

1875  1875,  Doc.  No.  i. 

1876  1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1877  1877  , Doc.  No.  1. 

1878  1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1879  1879,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1880  1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1881  18S1,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1882  1882.  Doc.  No.  1 

1883  1883,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1885-6,  1 Bien 1886,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1887-8,  2 “ 1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  3. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


21 1 


Sinking  Fund. — A history  of  this  fund  is  found  in  the 
report  of  the  Auditor  of  State  for  1870,  p.  75. 

The  act  January  28,  1834  (1834,  P-  I2)>  establishing  a 
State  Bank,  also  created  a Sinking  Fund,  and  provided 
that  the  president  and  directors  on  the  part  of  the  State 
should  constitute  a Board  of  Commissioners  of  such  fund, 
and  required  the  board  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Leg- 
islature. (Secs.  ii3to  121.)  Various  supplemental  acts 
were  afterwards  passed. 

The  act  March  1,  1859  (x859,  P*  186),  provided  for  dis- 
tribution of  fund,  and  that  after  that  the  office  should 
cease.  It  was  finally  abolished  from  and  after  January  20, 
1867,  by  act  December  21,  1865  (Spl.  Sess.  1865,  p.  48), 
and  books,  etc.,  transferred  to  Auditor  of  State.  See, 
also,  act  March  11,  1867,  p.  21);  post:  State  Debt  Sinking 
Fund. 

The  reports  prior  to  1835  are  contained  in  the  House 
and  Senate  Journals.  The  following  are  contained  in  the 
Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports: 


Y EAR. 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 


i835< 

1836. 

i837- 

1838, 

i839' 

1840. 

1841 

1842, 

i843 

i844' 

1845 

1846 

i847' 

1848. 

i849 

i85° 

1851 

1852 


..1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

..Omitted. 

..1837-S,  Doc.  No. — . 

..1838-9,  p.  31. 

..i839-4°,  P.  2,  p.  239. 

..1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  213. 

..1841-2,  P.  1,  p.  85. 

..1842-3,  P.  1,  p.  63. 

..1843-4,  p-2>  P-  27- 
..1844-5,  P-  L P-  121. 

..1845-6,  P.  1,  p.  1 19. 

..1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  1 13. 

..1847-8,  P.  1,  p.  169. 

..1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  273.  q 

..1849-50,  P.  1,  p.  1 25.  O 

..Omitted.  * A 

..1851-2,  p.  P.  2.5.  j <<r 

- * 1 852—3,  p.  I,  p.  241.  . 


212 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1853  1853,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1854  i854“5>  p-  U P-  547 

1855  ~ 1S55,  P.  1,  p.  249. 

1856  1856-7,  p-  h p.  379- 

1857  i857.  p-  U P-  285. 

1858  Omitted. 

1859  i859>  p-  2,  p.  185. 

1860  1860-1,  P.  2,  p.  193. 

1861  1861,  p.  357. 

1862  1862-3,  p*  0 P-445- 

1863  1863,  p.  269. 

1864  1864-5,  P-  2,  P-  I- 

1865  1865-6,  p.  135. 


Soldiers ' and  Sailors'  Monument. — A “State  Soldiers’ 
and  Sailors’  Monument”  was  provided  for  by  act  March 
3,  1887  (1887,  P-  3OI)s  which  created  a Board  of  Commis- 
sioners to  superintend  the  work.  The  act  required  the  com- 
missioners to  report  quarterly  to  the  Governor,  and  the 
secretary  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Governor,  to  be  by 
him  transmitted  to  the  Legislature.  The  following  reports 
have  been  printed  and  separately  bound  : 

1 Bien June  28,  1887,  to  Dec.  31,  1888 1 vol 

Soldiers'  and  Sailors  Orphan  Asylum, — This  institution, 
generally  known  and  commonly  designated  in  the  reports 
as  the  “ Soldiers’  Orphans’  Home,”  was  established  as  the 
“ Indiana  Soldiers’  and  Seamen’s  Home  ” by  act  March 
11,  1867  (1867,  p.  190),  which  required  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees to  file  a report  annually  on  February  1 in  office  of 
Secretary  of  State.  By  act  May  14,  1869  (Spl.  Sess. 
1869,  p.  1 19),  the  trustees  were  required  to  report  to  Gen- 
eral Assembly  on  October  31. 

By  the  act  March  15,  1879  (I^79»  P*  76),  one  board  of 
trustees  was  created  for  this  institution  and  that  for  Feeble 
Minded  Children  (see  this  title).  After  that  time  the  re- 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


213 


ports  of  the  two  were  combined,  until  act  February  15, 
1887  (1887,  p.  16),  by  which  the  institution  was  reorgan- 
ized as  a separate  institution  under  the  name  of  the  “ Indi- 
ana Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Orphan  Asylum,”  and  the 
Board  of  Trustees  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  on 
October  31.  The  act  required  the  reports  to  be  filed  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  to  be  printed. 

The  following  are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Jour- 
nals and  Annual  Reports : 


No. 

Year. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

March 

30,  1869  (Supp.  Rep.) 

4 

• • • 

1870 

5 

• • • 

1871 

6 

• • • 

1872 

• • 

(7) 

1873 

• •• 

(8) 

• 

• 

• 

00 

M 

• •• 

(9) 

1875 

9 

(10) 

1876 

• • • 

(11) 

1877 

11 

(12) 

1878 

9 

(21) 

1887 

State  Debt  Sinking  Fund . — By  act  June  18,  1852  (1  R.  S. 
1852,  p.  408),  provision  was  made  for  a “ State  Debt 
Sinking  Fund,”  and  the  Auditor,  Treasurer  and  Agent  of 
State  were  constituted  a “ State  Debt  Sinking  Fund  Com- 
mission,” and  required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  at  each  session.  It  seems  that  the  matters 
relating  to  this  fund  are  included  in  the  separate  reports 
of  the  various  officers  composing  the  commission,  there 
being  only  one  report  of  the  commission  in  the  Document- 
ary Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  This  is  dated  January 
7,  1865,  and  is  found  in  Documentary  Journal  1864-5,  P. 
1,  p.  709. 

By  act  December  21,  1865  (Spl.  Sess.  1865,  p.  48),  the 
State  Debt  Sinking  Fund  and  the  Sinking  Fund  proper 
were  consolidated  under  the  former  name  and  put  in 


214 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


charge  of  the  Auditor,  Treasurer  and  Agent  of  State,  sub- 
ject to  examination  by  legislative  committees  or  by  the 
Governor  or  any  person  appointed  by  him  for  that  pur- 
pose, reports  of  examinations  made  by  persons  appointed 
by  the  Governor  to  be  made  to  him  and  by  him  submitted 
to  the  Legislature,  if  in  session,  if  not,  to  the  next  ses- 
sion. 

Former  acts  authorizing  assessment  and  collection  of 
State  Debt  Sinking  Fund  taxes  were  repealed  by  act  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1871  (1871,  p.  6),  and  by  act  December  13,  1872 
(Spl.  Sess.  1872,  p.  27),  the  fund  was  discontinued  as  a 
separate  fund  and  merged  in  the  general  fund,  and  the 
commission  abolished  after  February  1,  1873. 

State  House  Commissioners. — Old  State  House. — Pro- 
vision for  the  commencement  of  a State  House  at  Indian- 
apolis was  made  by  act  February  10,  1831  (Spl.  Acts  1831, 
p.  153).  By  act  February  2,  1832  (1832,  p.  96),  commis- 
sioners were  appointed  to  superintend  the  erection  of  it, 
who  were  to  report  annually  to  the  Legislature.  The 
building  was  so  far  completed  as  to  be  occupied  in  winter 
of  1835. 

Such  of  the  reports  of  the  commissioners  as  were  printed 
are  contained  in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals. 

New  State  House. — By  act  March  14,  1877  (1877,  p. 
68),  provision  was  made  for  construction  of  another  State 
House,  and  a “Board  of  State  House  Commissioners’’ 
was  created,  which  was  required  to  report  quarterly  to  the 
Governor.  The  public  printing  act  of  1885  required  the 
reports  to  be  published  annually. 

The  State  House  having  been  completed  the  board  was 
abolished  by  act  March  9,  1889  (1889,  p.  284). 

A full  history  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board  from  the 
date  of  its  organization  is  contained  in  the  report  of  De- 
cember 31,  1878,  and  in  the  final  report. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


2I5 

Besides  the  regular  reports  the  board  also  published  a 
pamphlet,  containing  the  proceedings,  addresses,  etc.,  en- 
titled “Proceedings  of  the  Laying  of  the  Corner  Stone  of 
the  New  Capitol  of  Indiana,  on  the  28th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1880,  at  the  City  of  Indianapolis,”  36  pp.  Indianapo- 
lis, 1880. 

Some  of  the  quarterly  reports  were  not  printed.  The 
following  is  a complete  list  of  such  as  were  printed,  all  of 
them  being  in  pamphlet  form.  Only  those  indicated  below 
are  contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual 


Reports  : 

No. 

Period. 

Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1 

Quarter  ending  Oct.  1,  1877. 

3 

“ “ March  31,  1878. 

4 

“ “ June  30,  1878. 

5 

“ “ Sept.  30,  1878. 

6 

From  date  of  organization  to 

December  31,  1878.  1 

878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  8. 

7 

Quarter  ending  March  31,  1879. 

’ 

8 

“ “ June  30,  1879. 

9 

“ “ Sept.  30,  1879. 

(10) 

Year  ending  Dec.  31,  1879. 

1879,  P-  2>  Doc.  No.  5. 

11 

Quarter  ending  March  31,  1880. 

H 

From  January  1,  1879,  to  De- 

cember 31,  1880. 

1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  12. 

The 

following  are  for  years  ending  Dec.  3 

1 : 

18 

1881. 

22 

1882. 

26 

1883. 

30 

1884. 

34 

1885. 

38 

1886. 

42 

1887. 

46 

Final  report  containing  synopsis  of  proceedings  from  com 

mencement,  May  24,  1877,  to  completion  of  building,  Octo- 
ber 2,  1888. 


21 6 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Statistics  Bureau. — This  was  established  by  act  March 
29,  1879  ( 1%79>  P-  J93)’  creating  a department  to  be  known 
as  the  “Indiana  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Geology,”  re- 
quiring the  chief  of  the  department  to  make  annual  reports 
to  the  Governor.  By  act  March  5,  1883  (1883,  p.  104),  it 
was  made  a separate  department  under  name  of  “Indiana 
Bureau  of  Statistics.”  Biennial  Reports  were  required  by 
the  public  printing  act  of  1885,  and  also  by  act  March  9, 
1889  (1889,  p.  335),  requiring  reports  to  be  made  to  the 
Legislature. 

. Financial  reports  are  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports. 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1879  1879,  P-  2,  Doc.  No.  6. 

1880  1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  9. 


The  regular  reports  are  not  included  in  the  Document- 
ary Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  They  are  for  the  fol- 
lowing years  : 

Year.  No.  Year. 

1879  5 1883 

1880  6 1884 

1881  7 (1  Bien.)  1885-6 

1882  8 (2  “ ) 1887-8 

Swam'p  Land  Records , Clerk  of. — By  joint  resolution 
March  6,  1865  (Reg.  Sess.  1865,  p.  133),  the  Governor 
was  authorized  to  appoint  a suitable  person  to  revise  and 
correct  the  tract  and  sale  books  of  the  swamp  lands.  No 
reports  were  required,  but  the  following  are  contained  in 
the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports  : 


Date,  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

Dec.  18,  1874 1874-5,  P-  C Doc-  No.  5. 

Dec.  20,  1876 1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  10. 


No. 

1 

2 

3 

4 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


217 


Three  Per  Cent.  Fund , Agent  of. — See  Internal  Im- 
provement. The  office  was  abolished  and  duties  trans- 
ferred to  Treasurer  of  State  by  act  January  26,  1835  (1835, 
p.  75).  By  act  May  20,  1852  (1  R.  S.  1852,  p.  304),  it  was 
provided  that  the  Treasurer  of  State  should  draw  the 
Three  Per  Cent.  Fund  thereafter  due  and  that  he  and  the 
Auditor  of  State  should  include  a statement  thereof  in 
their  Annual  Reports.  What  remained  of  the  fund  was 
ordered  to  be  distributed  to  the  counties  by  act  April  8, 
1881  (1881,  p.  700).  The  reports  are  contained  in  the 
House  and  Senate  Journals. 

Treasurer  of  State. — The  office  of  Treasurer  of  State 
was  created  by  Constitution  of  1816  (art.  4,  sec.  24),  and 
continued  by  Constitution  of  1851  (art.  6,  sec.  1).  His  du- 
ties were  defined  by  act  December  11,  1816  (1817,  p.  143), 
which  required  him  to  report  annually  to  the  General  As- 
sembly during  the  first  week  of  session.  The  act  Jan- 
uary 25,  1841  (1841,  p.  124),  required  annual  reports  to 
the  Governor  by  November  1.  The  act  May  20,  1852  (1 
R.  S.  1852,  p.  497),  required  biennial  reports  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  but  the  law  was  again  changed  so  as  to 
require  annual  reports  to  Governor  on  October  31,  by  act 
February  3,  1853  (1853,  p.  120). 

The  reports  prior  to  1835  are  contained  in  House  and 
Senate  Journals.  The  following  are  contained  in  the  Doc- 
umentary Journals  and  Annual  Reports.  They  are  not 
numbered  : 

Doc.  j.  and  A.  R. 

1835- 6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1836- 7,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1837- 8,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1838- 9,  P.  1,  p.  35. 

1839- 40,  P.  2,  p.  45. 
,1840-1,  P.  1,  p.  69. 
1841-2,  P.  2,  p.  49. 


Year. 

i835-- 

1836.. . 

1837.. 

1838.. 

1839.. 

1840.. 

1841.. 


2l8 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1842  1842-3,  P.  2,  p.  3. 

1843  1843-4*  P.  1,  p.  11. 

1844  1844-5*  P-  !*  P-  57- 

1845  1845-6*  p-  1*  P-  65. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  57. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  1,  p.  1. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  1,  p.  97. 

1849  1849-5°*  p-  x>  P-  5* 

1850  1850-1,  P.  1,  p.  135. 

1851  1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  33. 

^52 1852-3*  P-  1,  P-  1. 

1853  Omitted. 

1854  i854-5*  P-  J*  P-  329- 

1855  1855*  P-  i»  P-  441* 

1856  1856-7,  P.  1,  p.  101. 

1857  1857,  P.  1,  p.  101. 

1858  Omitted. 

1859  “ 

1860  1860-1,  P.  1,  p.  193. 

1861-2 1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  1,  p.  169. 

1863  1863,  p.  465. 

1864  1864-5,  P.  1,  p.  849. 

1865  1865-6,  p.  99. 

1866  1866-7,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1867  1867-8,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1868  1868-9,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1869  1869,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1870  1870-1,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1871  1871,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1872  1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1873  1873,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1874  1 874-5,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  8. 

1875  i875,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1876  1876-7,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  7. 

1877  1877,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1878  1878-9,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  7. 

1879  1:879,  P-  2,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1880  1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1881  1881,  Doc.  No.  3. 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


219 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1882  1882,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1883  1883,  Doc.  No.  3. 

1884  1884,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1S85 1885,  Doc.  No.  2. 

1886  1886,  Doc.  No.  19. 

1887  1887,  Doc.  No.  1. 

1888  1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  6. 


University , Indiana. — This  institution  was  first  incor- 
porated as  the  “State  Seminary, ” by  act  January  20,  1820 
(1820,  p.  82),  and  trustees  were  appointed  to  locate  it  at 
Bloomington,  and  report  to  next  session.  The  act  Jan- 
uary 26,  1827  (1827,  p.  99),  created  a Board  of  Visitors 
and  required  them  to  make  annual  reports  to  General  As- 
sembly. The  Seminary  was  superseded  by  the  “Indiana 
College,”  established  by  act  January  24,  1828  (1828,  p. 
1 15),  which  created  a Board  of  Trustees  and  Visitors,  and 
required  the  treasurer  to  report  annually  to  the  Governor, 
to  be  by  him  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly,  a state- 
ment of  the  receipts  and  expenditures.  The  act  to  estab- 
lish “Indiana  University,”  passed  February  15,  1838 
(Local  L.,  1838,  p.  294),  required  treasurer  to  report  an- 
nually to  Governor  a statement  of  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures, to  be  by  him  laid  before  the  General  Assembly.  By 
act  January  15,  1848  (1848,  p.  47),  the  trustees  were  required 
to  make  annual  reports  to  General  Assembly.  By  act 
June  17,  1852  (1  R.  S.  1852,  p.504),  a “University  Fund” 
was  created,  and  the  institution  was  “formally  recognized 
as  the  University  of  the  State,”  under  the  name  of  the 
“Indiana  University,”  and  a Board  of  Trustees  was 
created,  which  was  required  to  make  annual  reports  to 
General  Assembly,  and  also  a Board  of  Visitors,  which 
was  required  to  report  annually  to  the  Governor. 

Various  laws  have  been  enacted  providing  funds  and 
making  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  University, 


220 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


and  a permanent  endowment  fund  was  provided  by  act 
March  3,  1883  (1883,  P-  82). 

By  the  public  printing  act  of  1885,  the  reports  are  to  be 
published  biennially,  the  catalogues  annually.  The  reports 
prior  to  1835  are  contained  in  the  House  and  Senate  Jour- 
nals. The  following  are  contained  in  the  Documentary 
Journals  and  Annual  Reports  : 


Y EAR. 

1848.. 

1849.. 
i8co.. 

1851.. . 


“ (Supplemental) 
i8c2 

1853  

1854  

“ (Supplemental) 

1855  

1856  

“ (Supplemental) 

1857-1872 

1873-4  (Financial).... 

1875  

1876  (Financial) 

1877  (Financial) 

1878  

1879-80  (Financial).. 
1881 

18S2 

1883 

18S4 

1885  

1886  (Financial)  

1887-8  “ 


Doc.  J.  AND  A.  R. 

1848- 9,  P.  2,  p.  274. 

1849- 50,  P.  2,  p.  133. 
Omitted. 

1851- 2,  P.  1,  p.  271. 

, “ “ p.  337. 

1852- 3>  p-  P-  3°9- 

Omitted. 

U 

■1854,-5,  P.  2,  p.  777. 
Omitted. 

u 

,1856-7,  p.  2,  P.  345. 
.Omitted. 

1874-5,  P-  2’  F)oc.  No.  2. 
1875,  Doc.  No.  6. 

1876-7,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  2. 
,1877,  Doc.  No.  6. 

,1878-9,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  2. 
.1880,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  13. 
.1881,  Doc.  No.  5. 

.1882,  Doc.  No.  4. 

1883,  Doc.  No.  5. 

1884,  Doc.  No.  7. 
Omitted. 

1886,  Doc.  No.  6. 

,1888,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  10. 


Vienna  Exposition  Commissioner.  — Pursuant  to  act 
March  4,  1873  (1873,  p.  223),  E.  T.  Cox,  State  Geologist, 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Hendricks  a Commissioner  to 
represent  Indiana  at  the  Vienna  Exposition.  His  report 


INDIA N A STATE  PUBLICATIONS . 


221 


is  contained  in  Indiana  Geological  Report  for  year  1873, 
p.  5.  See  also  Doc.  J.  1874-5,  P.  1,  Doc.  No.  11. 

Wabash  and  Erie  Canal. — See  Internal  Improvement. 
An  act  for  construction  of  “Wabash  and  Miami  Canal,” 
passed  January  5,  1828  (1828,  p.  10),  accepting  the  grant 
of  land  for  that  purpose  made  by  act  of  Congress  March  2, 
1827.  It  created  a board  of  commissioners,  which  was  re- 
quired to  report  annually  to  the  General  Assembly.  In 
subsequent  acts  the  commissioners  are  sometimes  referred 
to  simply  as  the  “Canal  Commissioners,”  and  they  so 
designate  themselves  in  some  of  their  reports.  By  subse- 
quent acts  January  23,  1829  (1829,  p.  13),  January  28, 
1830  (1830,  p.  13),  the  name  was  changed  to  “ Wabash 
and  Erie  Canal,”  and  additional  provisions  made  for  its 
construction.  By  act  January  9,  1832  (1832,  p.  3),  the 
fund  provided  was  called  the  “ Canal  Fund,”  and  a board 
of  “ Commissioners  of  the  Canal  Fund  ” was  created,  a 
separate  and  distinct  board  from  the  board  of  “ Canal 
Commissioners,”  and  required  to  report  annually  to  the 
General  Assembly.  By  the  act  January  31,  1833  (1833,  p. 
48),  the  duties  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners  were 
further  defined. 

By  the  Internal  Improvement  act  the  construction  of  the 
canal  was  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Internal  Improve- 
ment, and  when  that  board  was  abolished  by  the  act  of 
1842,  the  canal  was  put  in  charge  of  commissioners.  Af- 
terwards, by  the  Butler  bill,  January  19,  1846  (1846,  p.  3), 
the  canal  was  transferred  to  a Board  of  Trustees,  which 
was  required  to  report  annually  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly. 

The  reports  in  reference  to  the  canal  prior  to  1835  are 
by  the  various  commissioners,  superintendents,  etc.,  and 
are  contained  in  the  House  and  Senate  Journals.  From 
1836  to  1842,  the  reports  in  reference  to  it  are  included  in 


222  INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 

the  reports  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement  con- 
tained in  the  Documenta^  Journals.  The  reports  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  begin  with  the  one  for  1847,  and  are 
contained  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports. 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

*835 835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

“ Supplemental “ Doc.  No.  — . 

1843  (Div.  east  of  La  Fayette) 1843-4,  P*  2,  P*  x9- 

“ ( “ west  “ ) “ “ p.  35. 

1844  ( “ west  “ ) 1844-5.  P*  2,  P-  I3* 

“ ( “ east  “ ) “ “ p.  69. 

1845  1845-6,  P.  2,  p.  in. 

1846  1846-7,  P.  1,  p.  134. 

1847  1847-8,  P.  2,  p.  191. 

“ Superintendent “ “ p.  329. 

1848  1848-9,  P.  2,  p.  1 13. 

1849  1849-50,  P.  2,  p/251. 

1850  1850-1,  P.  2,  p.  137. 

1851  1851-2,  P.  1,  p.  223. 

1852  1852-3,  P.  2,  p.  325. 

1853..... 1853,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1854  1 854~5 > p-  2»  P-  9°5- 

1855  1855,  P.  2,  p.  105. 

1856  1856-7,  P.  2,  p.  273. 

1857  1857,  P.  2,  p.  169. 

1858  1858-9,  P.  1,  p.  277. 

1859  1859,  P.  i,  p.  289. 

1860  1860-1,  P.  1,  p.  267. 

1861  1861,  p.  375. 

1862  1862-3,  P-  L P-  453* 

1863  1863,  p.  473. 

1864  1864-5,  P*  2>  P-  *8i. 

1865-6 Omitted. 

1867-8 1867-8,  Doc.  No.  9. 

1869-70 1870-1,  P.  2,  Doc.  No. — . 

1871  1871,  Doc.  No.  12. 

1872  Omitted.* 

1873  1873,  Doc.  No.  16. 

1874  (Styled  28th  Annual) 1874-5,  P.  2,  Doc.  No.  14. 

* See  Report  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  1872-3,  Doc.  No.  — . 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


223 


The  report  for  1874  contains  a statement  of  the  total  re- 
ceipts and  disbursements  from  July  1,  1847,  to  December 
1,  1874. 

Wabash  River, — See  Internal  Improvement  Board.  By 
act  January  22,  1822  (1822,  p.  46),  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  investigate  relative  to  improvement  of  the 
Wabash  river  at  the  grand  rapids  and  report  to  the  Gov- 
ernor and  he  to  General  Assembly.  By  act  January  31, 
1824  (Spl.  Acts  1824,  p.  82),  a portion  of  the  Three  Per 
Cent.  Fund  was  set  apart  for  improving  the  navigation  of 
the  river  and  a commissioner  appointed  and  required  to 
report  annually  to  the  General  Assembly.  By  act  Febru- 
ary 2,  1832  (1832,  p.  275),  the  fund  was  directed  to  be 
paid  over  to  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  Fund  Commis- 
sioners. 

A further  act  for  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of 
the  river  was  passed  February  1,  1834  (1834,  P*  34-6),  and 
the  commissioners  required  to  report  annually.  Subse- 
quently the  Board  of  Internal  Improvement  took  charge 
of  the  matter.  The  following  reports,  made  under  the  act 
last  cited,  are  in  the  Documentary  Journals  : 


Year.  Doc.  J.  and  A.  R. 

1835  1835-6,  Doc.  No.  — . 

1836  Omitted. 

1837.. 1837-8,  Doc.  No.  — 


War  Offices. — During  the  rebellion  period  a number  of 
offices,  mostly  of  a military  character,  were  created  by  the 
General  Assembly,  or  by  Governor  Morton,  all  of  which 
ceased  during,  or  soon  after  the  close  of  the  rebellion. 
They  are  here  grouped  together  under  the  above  title. 
The  following  is  a list  of  such  reports  of  them  as  are  con- 
tained in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports : 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


224 


Agent  of  State  to  Purchase  Arms.- 

August  1,  1862  (Robert  Dale  Owen) 

....1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  2,  p.909. 

Allotment  Commissioner. — 

December  7,  1863 

Arsenal,  State. — 

(No  date) 

May  3,  1861,  to  December  31,  1862 

....1862-3,  p*  2»  v*  2>  P-901* 
....  “ P.  2,  v.  3,  p.  1339. 

Draft  Commissioner. — 

December  26,  1862 

....1862-3,  p-  2>  v-  P-697- 

Finance  Bureau. — 

May  1,  1864  

Gettysburg  Soldiers’  National  Cemetery. — 

1863-4 1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  571. 


Hospital  Surgeons. — 

January  6,  1863 

....1862-3,  P-  2>  v*  2>  P-  985* 

Legion,  Indiana. — See  act  May  n,  1861.  (Spl.  Sess. 
1861,  p.  52.) 

Report  of  Officers 1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  1,  pp.  729,  777. 

Reports  of  operations  in  1863-4 1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  369. 


Military  Agents. — 

December,  1864 

Military  Auditing  Committee. — See  acts  May  31,  1861 
(Spl.  Sess.  1861,  p.  3)  ; March  6,  1865  (Reg.  Sess.  1865, 


p.  37),  sec.  61. 

1861-2-3-4 

Ordnance  Officer. — 

December  15,  1864 

Pay  Agents. — 

December  31,  1862 

....1862-3,  P.  2,  v.  2,  p.  1013. 

INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


225 

Paymaster,  State. — See  acts  June  1,  1861  (Spl.  Sess. 
1861,  p.  73) ; March  11,  1867  (1867,  p.  3),  sec.  23. 

December  31,  1862 1862-3,  P-  2>  v-  2>  P-  I025* 

December  23,  1864 1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  515. 

Sanitary  Commission. — 

January  2,  1865 1864-5,  P.  2,  p.  69. 

Special  Agents  to  Visit  Troops,  etc. — 

1863-4 1862-3,  P-  2> v-  2>  P-  1041. 

List  of  Reports  Now  Required  to  be  Printed. — 
The  following  is  a list  of  the  reports  required  to  be  printed 
by  the  public  printing  act  of  April  13,  1885  (1885,  p.  215), 
and  subsequent  acts,  showing  how  often  reports  are  to  be 
printed  and  how  many  copies  of  each  and  the  law  govern- 
ing the  same: 


Office. 

When  Pub. 

No.  Cop. 

Law. 

Adjutant- General 

...Annual  and  Bien. 

600 

.1885,  p.  215. 

Agricultural  Board 

44 

..  5>°°° 

44 

44 

Attorney -General 

...Biennial  

44 

44 

Auditor  State 

44 

44 

Blind  Institute 

44 

44 

44 

Charities,  Board..  

44 

1889,  P-  51* 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Institute 

.1885,  p.  215. 

Equalization  Board 

44 

..  2,000 

u 

44 

Feeble-Minded  Youth 

44 

.1889,  p.  129. 

Geology,  etc.,  Department 

44 

■ “ P-  44* 

Governor  (Reprieves,  etc.) 

.1885,  p.  215. 

Health  Board 

..  3’000 

44 

44 

Horticultural  Society 

••  5°° 

44 

44 

Insane  Hospital 

44 

44 

Librarian,  State 

44 

44 

Mine  Inspector 

.1889,  p.  44. 

Normal  School,  Reports 

.1885,  p.  215. 

“ “ Catalogues... 

..  5,000... 

44 

44 

Oil  Inspector 

44 

.1889,  p.  44. 

Prison,  North 

44 

■1885,  p.  215. 

“ South 

44 

44 

44 

226 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


Office. 

When  Pub. 

No.  Cop. 

Law. 

Public  Instruction,  Supt 

.Biennial  

.1885,  p.215. 

Purdue  University,  Reports 

44 

44  44 

“ “ Catalogues  ..Annual 

.....  5>000 

44  44 

Reform  School  for  Boys 

44 

2,000 

«(  u 

“ “ Girls 

44 

2,000 

U (( 

Secretary  of  State 

.Biennial 

u u 

Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Orphans 

Home  

.Annual 

1887,  p.  16. 

Statistics,  Bureau 

.Biennial  

1889,  p.  335. 

Treasurer,  State 

.Annual 

1885,  p.  215. 

University,  Indiana,  Reports.... 

.Biennial  

44  44 

“ “ Catalogues...  Annual 

....  5’000 

44  44 

No  special  provision  is  made  for  printing  the  reports  of 
the  following  officers  and  institutions  : 

i 

Commissary  General. 

Custodian  of  Public  Buildings. 

Fisheries  Commissioner. 

Insane  Hospitals,  Additional. 

Kankakee  River  Commissioner. 

Live  Stock  Sanitary  Commissioner. 

Quarter-Master  General. 

Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Monument  Commissioners 

Supreme  Court  Reports. — The  number  of  Judges  by 
the  Constitution  of  1816  was  limited  to  three  ; by  the  Con- 
stitution of  1851  to  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five. 
The  court  was  composed  of  three  Judges  until  1853,  when 
by  the  R.  S.  1852  the  number  was  increased  to  four,  and 
this  number  was  in  1872  increased  to  five. 

The  Chief  Justice  is  designated  by  the  Judges  them- 
selves, and  it  is  generally  so  arranged  by  them  that  each 
of  the  Judges  is  in  turn  Chief  Justice  during  a portion  of 
his  term,  which  is  six  years  under  the  present  Constitu- 
tion. 

The  act  April  14,  1881  (1881,  p.  92),  authorized  the 
Judges  to  appoint  five  commissioners,  who  were  to  hold 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


227 


their  office  two  years  and  aid  the  Supreme  Judges  in  clear- 
ing the  docket.  By  act  March  3,  1883  (1883,  p.  77),  the 
term  of  the  commissioners  was  continued  for  two  years 
longer,  but  was  not  afterwards  extended.  Their  opinions 
are  contained  in  the  reports  of  the  opinions  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

The  first  reports  were  those  by  Isaac  Blackford,  one  of 
the  Judges,  in  eight  volumes,  the  first  of  which  was  pub- 
lished in  1830,  and  contained  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  from  May  term,  1817,  to  May  term,  1826,  inclusive. 
The  last  volume  contains  the  decisions  from  May  term, 
1846,  to  May  term,  1847,  inclusive.  A second  edition  has 
been  published  with  annotations  by  Edwin  A.  Davis,  the 
first  volume  containing  several  opinions  omitted  from  the 
reports  of  Judge  Blackford.  Blackford’s  reports  have 
always  maintained  a high  standing  and  are  said  by  Chan- 
cellor Kent  to  be  “ replete  with  extensive  and  accurate 
law  learning.  ” (2  Kent,  p.  176,  note  b.) 

Blackford’s  reports  are  followed  by  the  “ Indiana”  re- 
ports, the  first  volume  containing  the  cases  from  May 
term,  1847,  to  November  term,  1849,  inclusive.  This  vol- 
ume was  published  in  1852,  and  was  the  first  published 
under  the  Constitution  of  1851.  The  “ Indiana”  reports 
now  number  120  volumes. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  1816  no  provision  was  made 
for  publishing  the  reports,  and  those  of  Judge  Blackford 
were  published  as  a private  enterprise,  aided,  however, 
by  subscriptions  on  behalf  of  the  State.  The  Constitution 
of  1851  provided  for  publication  of  the  reports  by  the 
State,  and  the  R.  S.  1852  (vol.  1,  p.431),  authorized  the 
election  by  the  people  of  a Reporter  of  the  Supreme 
Court  whose  term  is  four  years. 

Blackford’s  reports  are  cited  by  the  name  of  the  re- 
porter ; the  subsequent  reports  as  “ Indiana  ” reports. 

There  is  a volume  entitled  u Smith’s  Indiana  Reports,” 


228 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


containing  reports  of  the  decisions  from  May  term,  1848, 
to  close  of  November  term,  1849.  This  was  not  a publi- 
cation authorized  by  the  State.  The  decisions,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  are  contained  in  the  regular  reports. 

The  following  is  a complete  list  of  the  regular  reports, 
with  the  names  of  the  reporters : 


Vols. 

Blackford.  1817  to  1847 8 

Indiana  Reports  by — 


Carter 

...1847-1851 

1-  2 

Ind 

Porter  

...1851-1856 

3~  7 

U 

5 

Tanner 

8-  14 

U 

7 

Harrison ... 

15-  17 

u 

3 

Kerr 

18-  22 

u 

5 

Harrison ... 

23-  29 

a 

7 

Black 

30-  53 

u 

24 

Martin 

54"  70 

u 

17 

Dice 

71-  99 

u 

29 

Kern 

100-116 

il 

i7 

Griffiths 

...1888- 

1 17-120 

u 

4 

Miscellaneous. — Many  publications  have  been  author- 
ized by  the  General  Assembly,  or  by  one  or  the  other 

of  its  branches,  which  are  not  included  in  any  of  the  clas- 
sifications here  made.  It  would  now  be  impossible  to 
accurately  enumerate  them  except  by  a careful  examina- 
tion of  the  House  and  Senate  Journals  and  the  printing 
acts.  Many  of  them  were  in  pamphlet  form,  and,  no 
copies  having  been  preserved  in  the  House  or  Senate 
Journals,  or  in  the  Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Re- 
ports, they  have  entirely  disappeared.  Others  were  bound 
in  substantial  form,  and  have  been  preserved.  Some  of 
them  are  included  in  the  following  list : 

Bank  Frauds . — There  is  a volume  entitled  on  the  back 
“Bank  Frauds,”  and  on  the  title-page,  “Journal  of  the 
Bank  Investigating  Committee,  a Select  Committee  of  the 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


229 

Indiana  Senate,  1857,”  containing  the  journal  and  report 
of  the  committee,  appointed  January  17,  1857  (Sen.  J. 
1 85 7 , p.  120).  The  reports  of  the  committee  were  never 
submitted  directly  to  the  General  Assembly,  which  ad- 
journed before  the  final  adjournment  of  the  committee  on 
June  30,  1857,  but  were  printed  and  distributed  pursuant 
to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate,  adopted  March  6,  1857 
(Sen.  J.  1857,  p.  707-710).  The  reports  are  not  in- 
cluded in  either  the  Senate  or  Documentary  Journal  for 
1:857.  1 vol. 

Report  of  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on 
the  management  and  affairs  of  the  Indiana  Hospital  for 
the  Insane.  (Submitted  at  55th  Sess.,  1887.)  1 vol. 

Proceedings  of  the  Special  Senate  Committee  on  the  con- 
dition and  conduct  of  the  Benevolent  Institutions  of  the 
State.  (Submitted  at  55th  Sess.,  1887.)  1 vol. 

Notice  to  Bidders  proposing  to  bid  for  purchase  of  In- 
diana School  Fund  Refunding  Bonds  ; containing  infor- 
mation as  to  laws,  etc.  1 vol. 

Report  of  Joint  Committee  on  investigation  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Indiana  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  at  Indianapolis. 
(Submitted  at  56th  Sess.,  1889.)  1 v°l* 

A Manual  of  the  Election  Law  of  Indiana. — (Prepared 
by  J.  P.  Dunn,  Jr.,  State  Librarian,  pursuant  to  Senate 
resolution  of  March  11,  1889.)  1 vol. 


230 


INDIANA  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


SUGGESTIONS  AS  TO  STATE  PUBLICATIONS. 


First.  Many  of  the  laws,  House,  Senate,  and  Docu- 
mentary Journals  are  not  in  the  State  Library,  nor  in  any 
of  the  State  offices,  and  are  extremely  rare  and  should  be 
reprinted. 

Second.  A complete  catalogue  should  be  made  of  all 
the  publications  authorized  by  the  State  since  its  organi- 
zation. 

Third.  A general  index  should  he  made  to  all  the  re- 
ports and  other  documents  contained  in  the  House,  Sen- 
ate, and  Documentary  Journals. 

Fourth.  Provision  should  be  made  for  curtailing  in 
future  the  official  reports  and  requiring  them  to  be  con- 
densed within  reasonable  limits.  Many  of  them  hereto- 
fore published  are  filled  with  a lot  of  stuff  of  no  interest  or 
profit  whatever  to  the  State  or  to  the  general  public. 

Fifth.  A provision  should  be  made  similar  to  that  in 
the  Laws  of  1853,  p.  20,  for  the  annual  deposit  by  the 
Public  Printer  in  the  State  Library  of  a number,  say  200 
or  more,  of  sets  labeled  “ Indiana  Public  Documents,” 
each  set  to  consist  of  as  many  volumes  as  may  be  re- 
quired, substantially  bound,  containing  all  the  State  pub- 
lications of  the  preceding  year,  with  general  tables  of 
contents.  This  would  preserve  in  permanent  form  all 
such  State  publications  as  have  heretofore  been  printed  in 
pamphlet,  and  would  not  prevent  the  binding  in  separate 
volumes  of  such  reports  as  it  might  be  deemed  advan- 
tageous to  so  bind  and  distribute. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


Volume  ii. 


Number  6. 


THE  RANK 

OF 

CHARLES  OSBORN 


ANTI-SLAVERY  PIONEER. 

BY 

GEORGE  W.  JULIAN. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1891. 


In  the  International  Review  for  June,  1882,  I endeavored 
to  show  the  unfaithfulness  of  current  history  in  dealing 
with  the  genesis  of  modern  abolitionism,  and  that  justice 
has  been  strangely  denied  to  a faithful  anti-slavery  pioneer 
who  was  a citizen  of  Indiana  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
long  life.  In  the  number  of  this  Review  for  September 
following,  Mr.  Oliver  Johnson  earnestly  combated  my 
positions,  and  the  controversy  was  closed  by  my  rejoinder 
in  the  number  for  November.  The  question  discussed  is 
full  of  historic  interest,  and  in  the  following  paper  I have 
dealt  with  it  more  fully,  and,  I think,  conclusively.  I re- 
spectfully submit  my  views  to  our  State  Historical  Society 
as  a slight  contribution  to  the  work  it  has  in  charge. 

G.  W.  J. 


(232) 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


In  just  so  far  as  the  interests  of  humanity  transcend 
those  of  country  and  race  the  philanthropists  and  reform- 
ers who  devoted  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  the  overthrow 
of  American  slavery  are  more  worthy  of  honor  than  the 
patriots  who  toiled  for  national  independence  and  the  lib- 
erty of  white  men.  It  is  therefore  gratifying  to  notice  the 
steadily  growing  disposition  in  all  directions  to  do  fitting 
honor  to  the  pioneers  and  heroes  of  the  anti-slavery  strug- 
gle in  the  United  States.  Oliver  Johnson’s  book,  entitled 
“ Garrison  and  the  Anti-Slavery  Movement,”  has  ap- 
peared in  a second  edition,  and  is  charmingly  written  by 
an  intimate  friend  and  fellow-laborer  in  the  cause,  who 
naturally  displays  his  unbounded  admiration  for  its  great 
moral  leader.  A far  more  voluminous  life  of  Mr.  Garri- 
son has  since  been  given  to  the  public  by  his  children, 
which  is  also  an  admirable  history  of  the  great  movement 
of  which  he  was  so  long  the  recognized  head.  Elizur 
Wright,  himself  an  able,  faithful  and  time-honored  pio- 
neer, prepared  and  published  a few  years  ago  an  interest- 
ing sketch  of  Myron  Holley,  one  of  the  earliest  leaders 
and  champions  of  organized  political  action  against  slav-* 
ery,  and  a man  of  singular  rectitude,  ability,  courage  and 
eloquence.  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne  is  the  author  of  a 
well-deserved  life  of  Edward  Coles,  the  anti-slavery  gov- 
ernor of  Illinois,  who  successfully  resisted  the  establish- 
ment of  slavery  in  that  state,  in  the  years  1823-24,  by  a 
scheme  of  organized  border  ruffianism  akin  to  that  which 


(233) 


234 


THE  RANK  OF 


in  later  years  came  so  near  making  Kansas  a slave  state. 
General  William  Birney  has  just  honored  himself  by  pub- 
lishing a life  of  his  father,  James  G.  Birney,  the  distin- 
guished leader  of  the  Liberty  party  and  its  candidate  for 
president  in  1840  and  1844.  There  is  yet  wanting  an  ade- 
quate life  of  Benjamin  Lundy,  whose  perfect  disinterest- 
edness, self-denying  zeal  and  absolute  devotion  to  human- 
ity entitle  him  to  the  highest  place  on  the  calendar  of 
anti-slavery  pioneers.  Still  other  lives  are  yet  to  be  writ- 
ten, and  although  a trustworthy  history  of  the  anti- slavery 
movement  can  not  be  expected  till  we  are  further  from  the 
strifes  and  passions  with  which  it  was  unavoidably  con- 
nected, yet  it  is  not  too  soon  to  insist  upon  justice  and  fair 
play  in  dealing  with  its  real  founders  and  apostles. 

Our  accepted  histories  and  manuals  agree  in  according 
to  William  Lloyd  Garrison  the  honor  of  first  proclaiming, 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  doctrine  of  “immediate 
and  unconditional  emancipation.”  They  also  agree  in 
awarding  to  Benjamin  Lundy  the  credit  of  publishing  the 
first  anti-slavery  newspaper  of  this  century,  and  of  being 
the  pioneer  abolitionist  of  the  United  States.  These  state- 
ments are  now  received  without  question,  and  supported 
by  Johnson’s  “Life  of  Garrison,”  Greeley’s  “History  of 
the  American  Conflict,”  Wilson’s  “ History  of  the  Rise 
and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power/’  Von  Holst’s  “ Constitutional 
and  Political  History  of  the  United  States,”  and  various 
other  authorities.  It  is  the  chief  purpose  of  this  paper  to 
controvert  these  alleged  facts,  and  to  show  that  Charles 
Osborn,  an  eminent  minister  in  the  Society  of  Friends, 
proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  immediate  and  unconditional 
emancipation  when  William  Lloyd  Garrison  was  only  nine 
years  old,  and  nearly  a dozen  years  before  that  doctrine 
was  announced  by  Elizabeth  Heyrick,  in  England  ; and  that 
Mr.  Osborn  also  edited  and  published  one  of  the  first  anti- 
slavery newspapers  in  the  United  States,  and  is  thus  en- 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


235 


titled  to  take  rank  as  the  real  pioneer  of  American  aboli- 
tionism. These  statements  may  appear  surprising,  but,  if 
true,  they  should  be  so  recognized.  If  the  current  of  his- 
tory has  been  diverted  into  a false  channel,  it  should  be 
turned  into  the  true  one.  The  story  of  the  great  conflict 
should  be  made  thoroughly  accurate  and  trustworthy. 
When  a great  victory  has  been  won,  every  general  should 
have  his  due  share  in  the  honor  of  its  achievement,  and, 
if  the  heroism  of  any  brave  man  has  been  slighted,  and  the 
fact  can  be  shown  by  newly  discovered  evidence,  the  rec- 
ord of  the  battle  should  be  made  to  conform  to  the  truth. 
It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  say  that  I have  no  desire 
whatever  to  do  the  slightest  injustice  to  Garrison  and 
Lundy.  Their  exalted  place  as  heroes  in  the  grand  army 
of  human  progress  is  irreversibly  established  ; and  Garri- 
son and  Lundy  themselves,  if  living,  would  be  the  last  to 
deny  to  a fellow-laborer  in  the  great  cause  the  share  of 
honor  he  had  fairly  earned  in  its  service. 

Before  proceeding  with  my  task,  let  me  briefly  sketch 
the  principal  facts  of  the  life  of  Charles  Osborn.  It  ap- 
pears, from  the  published  journal  of  his  travels,  that  he 
was  born  in  North  Carolina,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1775. 
In  his  nineteenth  year  he  removed  to  Tennessee,  where 
he  made  his  first  appearance  in  the  ministry  about  the 
year  1806.  He  soon  took  rank  as  a preacher  of  consider- 
able gifts,  and  traveled  and  preached  extensively  in  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  anti- 
slavery societies  of  these  States.  He  removed  to  Mount 
Pleasant,  Ohio,  in  1816,  where  he  published  a religious 
and  reformatory  newspaper,  and  continued  his  work  in 
the  ministry.  In  1819  he  settled  in  Indiana.  He  took 
an  active  and  leading  part,  as  an  orthodox  Friend,  in  the 
movement  against  Elias  Hicks  and  his  followers,  and  after 
this  made  a religious  visit  to  Great  Britain  and  a part  of 
the  continent.  He  sat  at  the  head  of  the  yearly  meetings 


THE  RANK  OF 


236 

of  this  country  for  about  the  third  of  a century,  and  the 
like  honor  was  accorded  him,  though  unsought,  by  Friends 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  during  his  sojourn  among 
them.  From  his  earliest  years  he  was  known  as  a thor- 
ough-going abolitionist,  and  an  abstainer  from  the  use  of 
slave-grown  produce  ; and,  in  his  later  life,  he  became  in- 
volved in  a controversy  with  his  society  on  the  slavery 
question,  which  resulted  in  his  separation  from  it  in  testi- 
mony of  his  unflinching  devotion  to  the  slave. 

Respecting  Mr.  Osborn’s  connection  with  the  doctrine 
of  immediate  and  unconditional  emancipation,  I submit  the 
following  facts : 

1.  In  the  month  of  December,  1814,  he  took  the  lead  in 
organizing  the  “Tennessee  Manumission  Society.”  It 
was  formed  at  the  house  of  Elihu  Swain,  his  father-in-law, 
and  its  object  was  the  immediate  and  unconditional  man- 
umission of  the  slaves.  Rachel  Swain,  now  known  as 
Rachel  Davis,  a daughter  of  Elihu  Swain,  still  survives, 
and  resides  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  and  she  says  she 
was  present  at  the  organization  of  the  society,  and  knows 
the  facts  I have  stated.  I have  personally  known  her  many 
years,  and  know  her  to  be  an  entirely  trustworthy  witness. 
It  is  true  she  is  now  very  old,  and  the  facts  to  which  she 
bears  witness  happened  a long  time  ago ; but  while  the 
memory  of  old  people  touching  recent  events  is  very  un- 
trustworthy it  is  vivid  as  to  those  of  childhood  and  early 
life.  Moreover,  her  statements  are  corroborated  by  per- 
sons still  living,  whose  names  I shall  presently  mention, 
and  who  form  a connecting  link  between  that  early  period 
and  the  present.  From  them  I learn  the  character  of  the 
first  manumission  societies  of  Tennessee  and  North  Caro- 
lina. Their  mission  was  not  political  but  moral.  Slavery 
had  not  then  found  its  way  into  politics.  Their  appeal  was 
to  the  individual.  Like  the  Garrisonian  abolitionists  of  a 
later  day  they  taught  the  sinfulness  of  slavery  and  the  duty 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


237 


of  immediate  repentance.  Let  me  add  that  in  1852,  when 
Mrs.  Davis  was  only  fifty  years  old,  she  united  with  the 
Society  of  Anti-Slavery  Friends,  of  which  she  was  then  a 
member  in  witness  of  the  facts  she  now  affirms. 

2.  My  second  witness  is  Rev.  John  Rankin,  a native 
of  Tennessee,  where  he  resided  till  the  year  1817.  He 
then  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  afterwards  to  Ohio,  where 
he  died  a few  years  ago,  at  the  age  of  ninety-odd  years. 
Few  men  are  more  widely  known  to  the  anti-slavery  pub- 
lic. He  founded  the  Western  Tract  Society,  at  Cincin- 
nati, for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  country  with  anti- 
slavery information.  He  was  one  of  the  first  lecturers  sent 
out  by  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  of  which  he 
was  also  one  of  the  founders.  As  preacher,  writer  and 
lecturer,  he  was  most  honorably  known.  He  was  an  un- 
compromising abolitionist  from  his  youth  up,  and  he 
preached  his  doctrines  boldly  from  the  pulpit  at  a very 
early  day,  both  in  the  South  and  in  the  North.  He  says 
the  manumission  society  referred  to  proclaimed  the 
doctrine  of  immediate  emancipation,  and  that  after  his  re- 
moval to  Kentucky  he  proclaimed  it  to  large  congregations. 
In  1824,  after  his  removal  to  Ohio,  he  published  a series 
of  letters  setting  forth  the  sinfulness  of  slave-holding,  and 
avowing  the  same  principle.  These  letters  were  published 
in  book  form  in  1825,  and  were  printed  in  the  Liberator. 
That  Mr.  Garrison  was  well  pleased  with  the  book  is 
shown  by  the  following  inscription  on  the  fly-leaf  of  a 
volume  of  his  own  writings,  which  he  presented  to  Mr. 
Rankin : 

“Rev.  John  Rankin,  with  the  profound  regards  and 
loving  veneration  of  his  anti-slavery  disciple  and  humble 
co-worker  in  the  cause  of  emancipation,  William  Lloyd 
Garrison.” 

To  this  evidence  of  Mr.  Rankin  I now  add  that  of  his 
brother,  Dr.  A.  T.  Rankin,  who  has  recently  made  the 


THE  RANK  OF 


238 

public  statement  that  John  Rankin  preached  immediate 
and  unconditional  emancipation  as  early  as  the  year  1817. 
His  letters  to  me  on  the  subject,  with  those  of  his  brother, 
are  before  me.  It  should  be  remembered,  also,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  first  volumne  of  Henry  Wilson’s  “ History 
of  slavery,”  page  178,  at  a meeting  of  the  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  in  New  York,  years  ago,  John  Rankin 
made  the  same  statement  respecting  his  early  and  public 
espousal  of  immediate  emancipation. 

But  I do  not  rest  the  case  here,  and  shall  show  the  trust- 
worthiness of  Mr.  Rankin’s  recollection  by  his  letters 
already  referred  to,  written  in  the  year  1824,  and  pub- 
lished in  book  form  the  year  following.  As  an  arraign- 
ment of  slavery  this  book  is  as  terrible  as  it  is  just.  He 
shows  it  to  be  a curse  to  both  master  and  slave,  a horrid 
conspiracy  against  marriage  and  the  family,  an  outrage 
upon  the  inborn  rights  of  man,  a blight  and  a blast  upon 
every  community  in  which  it  exists,  a loathsome  mockery 
of  the  very  principle  of  free  government,  and  a palpable 
violation  of  the  express  law  of  God.  The  writer  of  such 
a book  who  religiously  believed  what  he  wrote,  as  did 
John  Rankin,  could  never  have  tolerated  the  thought  of 
postponing  the  duty  of  emancipation  for  a day  or  an  hour. 
But  putting  aside  the  general  character  of  the  book,  I 
propose  to  remove  all  doubt  or  cavil  by  particular  extracts 
from  its  pages  I quote  from  page  34  of  the  third  edition, 
printed  at  Newburyport,  Massachusetts : 

“And  here  I must  remark  upon  one  main  objection  to 
the  emancipation  of  the  slaves : it  is  that  they  are,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  want  of  information,  incapacitated  for 
freedom,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  detain  them  in  bond- 
age until  they  may  be  better  prepared  for  liberation.  But 
from  the  preceding  remarks  it  is  abundantly  evident  that 
they  are  now  better  prepared  with  respect  to  information 
for  emancipation  than  they  will  be  at  any  future  period, 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


239 

and  that  less  inconvenience  and  danger  would  attend  their 
liberation  at  present  than  at  any  future  time.  It  must  be 
obvious  to  every  one  capable  of  discernment  that  the  in- 
convenience and  danger  of  emancipation  will  increase  in 
proportion  as  slaves  become  more  numerous.  Indeed,  all 
the  difficulties  that  attend  emancipation  are  rapidly  in- 
creasing, and  they  must  certainly  be  endured  at  some 
period,  sooner  or  later;  for  it  is  most  absurd  to  imagine 
that  such  an  immense  body  of  people,  most  rapidly  in- 
creasing, can  always  be  detained  in  bondage,  and,  there- 
fore, it  is  much  better  to  endure  those  difficulties  now  than 
it  will  be  when  they  shall  have  grown  to  the  most  enor- 
mous size.” 

I quote  also  the  following  on  page  116: 

“ We  are  commanded  to  do  justly  and  love  mercy,  and 
this  we  ought  to  do  without  delay,  and  leave  the  conse- 
quences attending  it  to  the  control  of  Him  who  gave  the 
command.  We  ought  also  to  remember  that  no  excuse  for 
disobedience  will  avail  anything  when  He  shall  call  us  to 
judgment.” 

If  this  does  not  clearly  inculcate  the  duty  of  immediate 
emancipation,  words  have  no  meaning  or  were  made  to 
deceive.  The  reasonableness  and  credibility  of  Mr.  Ran- 
kin’s statement  are  made  evident  by  some  kindred  facts, 
and  I refer  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  still  further  showing 
how  completely  mistaken  are  those  who  assume  that  no- 
body in  this  country  announced  the  doctrine  in  question 
prior  to  Mr.  Garrison,  in  1829.  In  1824  Rev.  James  Dun- 
can proclaimed  it  in  his  book  entitled  “A  Treatise  on 
Slavery.”  In  December,  1825,  Lundy  published  in  the 
Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation , Elizabeth  Hevrick's 
famous  pamphlet,  “ Immediate,  not  Gradual  Emancipa- 
tion.” In  the  same  issue  of  the  paper  I find  a vigorous 
article,  in  which  the  principle  is  clearly  asserted  and 
argued.  The  name  of  the  writer  does  not  appear,  because 


240 


THE  RANK  OF 


the  article  seems  to  be  one  of  a series,  and  I have  not  been 
able  to  find  the  preceding  and  following  issues  of  the  paper. 
I quote  the  following  passage  : 

“ The  slave  has  a right  to  his  liberty — a right  which  it 
is  a crime  to  withhold — let  the  consequences  to  the  planters 
be  what  they  may.  * * * The  cause  of  emancipation 

calls  for  something  more  decisive,  more  efficient,  than 
words.  It  calls  upon  the  real  friends  of  the  poor,  degraded 
African  to  bind  themselves  by  a solemn  engagement,  an 
irreversible  vow,  to  participate  no  longer  in  the  crime  of 
keeping  him  in  bondage.” 

The  same  doctrine  is  declared,  with  still  greater  precis- 
ion and  emphasis,  in  an  article  published  in  the  Genius  for 
August  5,  1826.  It  bears  evidence  of  having  been  written 
by  a Presbyterian  minister.  After  insisting  that  slavery 
is  a crime,  he  says : 

“ What  has  God  told  you  about  crime,  or  sin?  To  de- 
sist from  it,  or  persevere?  To  desist.  When?  Now  ! Now  ! ! 
Yes,  mortal,  He  never  gave  man  or  angel  a moment  to 
consider — a minute  to  wait  for  the  alteration  of  affairs,  or 
for  more  favorable  circumstances.  If  we  are  required  to 
do  right,  we  are  required  to  do  it  immediately.” 

The  subject  of  immediate  emancipation  is  likewise  dis- 
cussed in  the  Genius  for  October,  1822,  by  Benjamin  Lundy 
himself,  in  reply  to  a writer  who  has  inveighed  against  the 
terrible  consequences  which  would  result  from  it,  thus  show- 
ing that  the  idea  was  then  in  the  minds  of  men.  Mr.  Gar- 
rison, in  all  probability,  read  the  articles  to  which  I have 
referred  at  the  time  of  their  appearance,  as  he  had  read 
Rankin’s  book  ; but  whether  he  did  or  not  I have  made  it 
certain  that  he  was  not  first  in  announcing  the  principle  of 
immediate  emancipation  in  this  country. 

3.  In  the  year  1841  Mr.  Osborn,  as  I shall  hereafter  have 
occasion  to  show,  gave  offense  to  his  society  by  his  earnest 
and  uncompromising  espousal  of  the  doctrine  in  question  ; 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


241 


and  the  well-known  Levi  Coffin,  in  his  published  volume 
of  “ Reminiscences,”  on  page  231,  referring  to  that  period, 
says  that  Mr.  Osborn  “ preached  no  new  doctrine,  had 
experienced  no  change,  but  followed  the  same  course  and 
advocated  the  same  anti-slavery  doctrine  he  had  for  forty 
years.”  He  further  says,  on  page  265,  that  he  publicly 
advocated  immediate  and  unconditional  emancipation  in 
Ohio  in  1816.  Mr.  Coffin  knew  him  in  his  youth,  and  gave 
these  testimonies  from  his  personal  knowledge.  As  a 
philanthropist  Mr.  Coffin  is  very  widely  known  and  worthily 
remembered.  His  devotion  to  humanity  was  a passion, 
while  in  the  matter  of  integrity  he  was  as  guileless  as  a 
little  child.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  his  old  age  weakens 
the  value  of  his  testimony ; for  although  he  was  an  old  man 
when  he  wrote  his  “ Reminiscences,”  he  had  given  the 
same  evidence,  as  I shall  show,  in  the  year  1843,  when  in 
the  prime  of  life,  and  only  removed  some  twenty-odd  years 
from  the  time  when  Mr.  Osborn’s  manumission  society  in 
Tennessee  was  formed.  He  is  a competent  and  credible 
witness,  and  his  evidence  must  be  accepted  as  true  or  suc- 
cessfully impeached. 

4.  In  a printed  document  published  in  1843,  reviewing 
certain  proceedings  of  the  Indiana  yearly  meeting  in  deal- 
ing with  Mr.  Osborn,  the  following  statement  is  made  : 
‘ 4 It  is  well  known  that  the  sentiments  of  Charles  Osborn 
in  relation  to  this  subject  (slavery)  are  the  same  now  they 
were  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago.”  This  is  signed 
by  Daniel  Puckett,  Walter  Edgerton,  H.  H.  Way,  Jacob 
Graves,  John  Shugart,  and  Levi  Coffin — all  perfectly  re- 
liable men,  and  three  of  them,  namely,  Puckett,  Way  and 
Coffin,  were  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Osborn  and 
his  anti-slavery  position  during  the  period  covering  his  life 
and  labors  in  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina.  I personally 
know  all  these  to  have  been  perfectly  trustworthy  witnesses 
and  intelligent  men.  They  were  leaders  in  the  religious 


242 


THE  RANK  OF 


society  to  which  they  belonged,  and  none  of  them  were 
then  beyond  the  meridian  of  life. 

5.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Osborn  a memorial  of  his  life 
was  drawn  up  and  adopted  by  the  Society  of  Anti-Slavery 
Friends,  to  which  he  belonged,  in  March,  1852.  That 
memorial  refers  to  his  leadership  in  the  formation  of  manu- 
mission societies  in  1814,  and  declares  that,  “ in  endeavor- 
ing to  lay  the  foundation  principle  of  these  societies,  he,  at 
that  early  day,  advocated  and  maintained  the  only  true  and 
Christian  ground — immediate  and  unconditional  emanci- 
pation.” After  this  memorial  was  drawn  it  was  submitted 
to  the  monthly  meeting,  and,  according  to  the  practice  in 
all  such  cases,  was  scrutinized  before  its  approval.  It  then 
had  to  be  sent  to  the  quarterly  meeting,  composed  of  the 
members  of  the  different  monthly  meetings,  and  again  ex- 
amined and  passed.  It  was  then  forwarded  to  the  meeting 
for  sufferings,  composed  of  representatives  from  each  of  the 
quarterly  meetings,  composing  the  yearly  meeting,  and  a 
certain  number  to  represent  the  latter.  This  body  of  men 
again  examined  and  approved  it,  after  which  it  was  read 
in  the  yearly  meeting  before  the  members  of  the  society, 
en  masse , who  approved  and  adopted  it.  In  these  several 
meetings  were  such  men  as  Levi  Coffin,  William  Beard, 
Henry  H.  Way,  Enoch  Macy,  Jonathan  Swain,  Thomas 
Frazier,  Daniel  Puckett,  Isaiah  Osborn,  William  Plough, 
Walter  Edgerton,  Benjamin  Stanton,  John  Shugart,  Jacob 
Graves,  and  various  others,  many  of  whom  were  personally 
and  intimately  acquainted  with  Charles  Osborn  and  his 
labors  in  the  manumission  cause  in  Tennessee  and  North 
Carolina.  They  were  men  of  the  highest  character  for  in- 
tegrity, and  could  not  have  been  induced  to  sit  by  and 
approve  statements  about  which  they  were  well  informed 
if  they  were  false.  In  my  earlier  life  I knew  all  these  men, 
and  I entertain  not  the  shadow  of  a doubt  as  to  the  perfect 
accuracy  of  their  statements. 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


243  • 


6.  The  manumission  movement  in  Tennessee  awakened 
uneasiness  among  the  slave-holders,  some  of  whom 
thought  it  would  be  good  policy  to  attach  jthemselves  to  it 
as  members.  In  a moment  of  weakness,  and  on  consid- 
erations of  expediency,  the  constitution  of  the  society  was 
so  changed  as  to  permit  this  ; and  this  led  to  a further 
compromise,  by  which  the  name  of  the  society  was 
changed  to  that  of  “ Manumission  and  Colonization  So- 
ciety.” Mr.  Osborn  was  present  when  these  changes 
were  proposed  and  adopted,  and  gave  them  his  decided 
opposition.  In  the  language  of  the  Quakers  of  a later 
day,  he  believed  “the  full  enjoyment  of  liberty  to  be  the 
right  of  all,  without  any  conditions,”  and  could  not  “ con- 
sent, upon  any  conditions,  that  the  bondage  of  a fellow- 
being shall  be  prolonged  for  a single  day,”  nor  “ say  to 
him  he  must  go  to  Hayti,  to  Liberia,  or  any  other  place, 
to  entitle  him  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  liberty.”  The  facts 
respecting  these  changes  in  the  policy  of  the  manumission 
movement  and  Mr.  Osborn's  opposition  are  given  on  the 
authority  of  his  early  friends  and  anti-slavery  associates, 
already  referred  to,  and  are  more  particularly  set  forth  in 
Edgerton’s  “ History  of  the  Separation  in  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Friends,”  published  in  1856,  and  in  Mr.  Os- 
born’s “Journal  of  His  Travels  and  Labors  in  the  Minis- 
try,” published  in  1854. 

7.  In  enumerating  these  proofs  I ought  to  make  more 
special  and  emphatic  mention  of  Mr.  Osborn’s  hostility  to 
African  colonization.  He  avowed  this  in  his  youth,  and 
never  afterward  faltered.  The  fact  is  as  honorable  to  him 
as  it  is  remarkable  that,  while  the  leading  abolitionists  of 
England  and  the  United  States  were  caught  in  this  snare, 
he  was  never  for  a moment  deluded  by  any  of  its  plausi- 
bilities. His  moral  vision  detected  its  character  from  the 
beginning.  “Emancipation,”  he  declared,  “was  thrown 
into  the  cradle  of  colonization,  there  to  be  rocked  and 


THE  RANK  OF 


244 

kept  quiet  until  the  last  slave-holder  should  become 
willing  to  send  his  human  chattels  to  the  colony.’3 
Benjamin  Lundy  and  other  anti-slavery  men  discussed 
it  as  a scheme  of  gradual  emancipation,  and  as  such  Mr. 
Osborn  always  understood  it.  He  opposed  it  because  it 
postponed  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  and  placed  conditions 
in  its  way.  This  subtle  scheme  of  imposture  and  inhuman- 
ity became  a national  organization  in  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1817,  and  became  at  once  the  great  stalking-horse  of 
slavery.  It  darkened  the  air,  palsied  the  public  con- 
science, and  balked  all  efforts  looking  to  immediate  eman- 
cipation. It  draped  over  the  abomination  of  slavery,  and 
debauched  the  judgment  of  the  country.  Like  Aaron’s 
rod,  it  swallowed  up  all  else.  It  was  the  grand 
stumbling-block  of  philanthropy,  and  the  colossal  false- 
hood of  the  generation.  There  was  but  one  thing  for  a 
thoroughly  earnest  anti-slavery  man  to  do,  and  that  was  to 
fight  it.  This  Mr.  Osborn  did,  single-handed.  He  girded 
himself  for  battle  against  the  most  formidable  and  insidi- 
ous foe  of  freedom  that  had  ever  stood  in  its  path.  He 
was  a doer  of  the  word  from  his  youth,  and  I have  a right 
to  define  his  position  by  the  unambiguous  testimony  of  his 
life. 

It  is  not  pretended,  of  course,  that  Mr.  Osborn  ex- 
pected that  the  slave-holders  would  immediately  emanci- 
pate their  slaves.  Without  the  intervention  of  a miracle 
this  was  impossible.  The  work  of  emancipation  could 
only  go  forward  under  the  inevitable  conditions  by  which 
it  was  complicated.  It  had  to  become  an  educational 
process  before  it  could  be  realized  in  fact.  This  was  Mr. 
Garrison’s  idea,  for  he  had  no  thought  of  emancipation  by 
force.  What  Mr.  Osborn  preached  to  the  slave-holder 
was  the  doctrine  of  immediate  repentance,  and  that  he  had 
no  right  to  put  off  that  repentance  to  a more  convenient 
season.  That  was  his  well-known  position  in  1830,  when 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


245 


the  anti-slavery  agitation  began  seriously  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  country ; and  the  Indiana  yearly  meeting, 
which  could  not  endure  this  doctrine  in  1842,  never  dis- 
puted the  fact  that  he  had  at  all  times  avowed  it.  If  it  be 
said  that  it  was  well  known  that  the  honor  of  first  proclaim- 
ing this  doctrine  in  this  country  was  ascribed  to  Mr.  Gar- 
rison by  his  friends,  and  that  Mr.  Osborn  would  have  con- 
tested this  claim  if  he  had  felt  himself  entitled  to  make  it, 
I reply  that  he  was  a traveling  minister  among  Friends, 
engrossed  in  his  peculiar  work,  and  may  have  known 
nothing  of  the  matter.  It  is  quite  as  reasonable  to  suppose 
him  ignorant  of  the  claim  made  by  the  friends  of  Mr.  Gar- 
rison as  to  suppose  the  latter  ignorant  of  Mr.  Osborn’s 
well-known  record  as  an  immediate  emancipationist.  In 
justice  to  him  it  should  also  be  said  that  he  was  too  mod- 
est to  blow  his  own  trumpet,  and  too  much  absorbed  in  his 
work  to  concern  himself  about  its  honors ; and  that  if  this 
had  been  otherwise  he  had  no  motive  to  enter  into  any 
strife  over  the  question.  The  champions  of  immediate 
emancipation,  when  it  first  began  to  stir  the  country,  and 
during  the  life  of  Mr.  Osborn,  were  obliged  to  make  them- 
selves of  no  reputation.  They  were  cast  out  of  all  the 
synagogues  of  respectability,  and  little  dreamed  of  the 
honors  with  which  they  were  finally  crowned.  Mr.  Os- 
born, therefore,  could  have  had  no  selfish  inducement  to 
contest  the  claim  of  Mr.  Garrison,  while  either  of  them 
would  doubtless  have  been  glad  to  know  that  the  other 
had  avowed  this  sound  and  saving  principle. 

Before  leaving  this  branch  of  my  subject,  I must  notice 
the  surprising  effort  of  Oliver  Johnson  to  dispose  of  the 
evidence  I have  submitted.  He  asserts  that  if  the  doctrine 
in  question  had  been  proclaimed  at  the  time  mentioned 
“ it  would  not  have  failed  to  arrest  public  attention,  and 
throw  a broad  light  over  the  whole  country.”  When  it 
was  announced  by  Garrison,  he  says,  “it  was  like  a re- 


THE  RANK  OF 


24  6 

volving  light  on  a headland,  casting  its  rays  afar  over  the 
raging  sea.”  He  says  “the  whole  land  was  startled  into 
attention  ; the  slave-holders  were  alarmed,  and  thenceforth 
had  no  peace,”  and  that  “it  is  morally  certain  that  it 
would  have  been  so  in  Tennessee  if  that  light  had  been 
kindled  there.”  My  reply  is  that  I am  debating  a ques- 
tion of  fact,  and,  having  conclusively  shown  that  Mr.  Os- 
born did  proclaim  this  doctrine  in  1814,  the  question  about 
the  consequences  which  Mr.  Johnson  says  would  have  fol- 
lowed concerns  him  quite  as  much  as  me.  But  I will  meet 
his  argument  directly,  and  expose  its  complete  fallacy. 
This  fallacy  is  found  in  the  unwarranted  assumption  that 
public  opinion  in  the  South  was  as  intolerant  and  inflam- 
mable in  1814  as  it  became  in  1830  and  the  following  years. 
This  is  notoriously  not  the  fact,  and  it  is  marvelous  that 
one  so  familiar  with  anti-slavery  history  as  Mr.  Johnson 
did  not  remember  it.  John  Rankin  is  my  authority  for  the 
statement  that  while  he  was  a young  man  a majority  of 
the  people  of  east  Tennessee  were  abolitionists,  and  I have 
already  quoted  his  testimony  that  he  afterwards  preached 
immediate  emancipation  to  large  congregations  in  Ken- 
tucky. His  brother,  in  a recent  letter  to  me,  confirms  this 
testimony,  and  says  that  he  frequently  supplied  a book- 
seller in  Maysville,  Kentucky,  with  copies  of  John  Rank- 
in’s radical  book  already  referred  to,  and  that  the  State 
Abolition  Society  favored  immediate  emancipation.  I have 
already  quoted  from  articles  in  Lundy’s  Genius  for  1825 
and  1826  in  favor  of  immediate  emancipation,  and  I think 
no  mob  followed  their  publication.  In  1826  the  American 
convention  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  was  held  in  Balti- 
more, representing  81  societies,  71  of  which  were  in  the 
slave  States.1  In  1827  there  were  130  abolition  societies 
in  the  United  States,  of  which  106  were  in  the  slave-hold- 


1 Wilson’s  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power,  page  170. 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


247 


ing  States,  and  only  4 in  New  England  and  New  York. 
Of  these  societies,  8 were  in  Virginia,  11  in  Maryland,  2 
in  Delaware,  2 in  the  District  of  Columbia,  8 in  Kentucky, 
25  in  Tennessee,  and  50  in  North  Carolina.1  These  so- 
cieties were  no  doubt  largely  the  result  of  the  labors  ot 
such  men  as  Charles  Osborn  and  Benjamin  Lundy.  Anti- 
slavery feeling  was  widely  diffused,  and  although  it  was 
not  very  intense,  and  the  subject  of  slavery  was  discussed 
without  passion,  the  people  seemed  to  be  honestly  in  search 
of  some  method  of  escape  from  its  evils.  These  historic 
facts  show  why  it  was  that  from  1814  to  1830  the  proclama- 
tion of  immediate  emancipation  failed  to  startle  the  coun- 
try.  It  was  the  Southampton  Insurrection  of  Nat.  Turner, 
in  Virginia,  in  1831,  and  indications  of  insurrections  in 
other  States  the  same  year,  which  fired  the  Southern  heart, 
swept  these  societies  out  of  existence,  and  inaugurated 
“ the  reign  of  terror  ” in  the  South  which  lasted  till  its 
overthrow  by  the  power  of  war.  Then  it  was  that  the  bat- 
tle-cry of  immediate  emancipation  became  the  trumpet  of 
alarm,  and  signalized  the  advent  of  the  irrepressible  con- 
flict. In  Mr.  Garrison  the  word  became  flesh,  for  the 
nation  was  entering  upon  a new  dispensation,  and  the 
hour  and  the  man  had  met.  Samuel  Adams  preached  in- 
dependence many  years  before  it  electrified  the  colonies. 
He  was  the  real  father  of  the  revolution ; but  he  was 
obliged  to  bide  his  time  till  the  multiplying  exactions  of 
the  mother  country  finally  prepared  the  people  for  the  con- 
flict, and  to  write  on  their  banners  that  4 ‘Taxation  without 
representation  is  tyranny.”  No  man  is  strong  enough  to 
wrestle  with  the  logic  of  events. 

I come  now  to  the  proof  of  my  statement  that  Mr.  Osborn 
edited  and  published  the  first  anti-slavery  newspaper  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  thus  further  entitled  to  the  honor 


1 Poole’s  Anti- Slavery  Opinions  before  1800,  page  72. 


THE  RANK  OF 


248 

of  being  counted  the  pioneer  of  latter-day  abolitionism. 
My  task  will  not  be  difficult,  and  it  will  supply  some  cor- 
roborative proof  of  his  anti-slavery  position.  We  have 
seen  that  he  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  in  1816. 
In  that  year  he  issued  his  prospectus  for  a weekly  news- 
paper to  be  called  the  Philanthropist,  and  published  at  that 
place;  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  1817,  the  first 
number  was  issued.  Its  publication  was  continued  till  the 
eighth  of  October,  1818.  The  tone  of  the  paper  was  ear- 
nestly moral  and  religious.  He  devoted  its  columns  con- 
siderably to  the  interests  of  temperance  and  peace,  but  the 
burden  and  travail  of  his  heart  was  slavery.  I speak  by 
authority,  having  the  bound  volumes  of  the  paper  before 
me.  It  was  just  such  a paper  as  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy  was 
murdered  for  publishing  in  Illinois  twenty  years  later. 
Benjamin  Lundy,  then  residing  at  St.  Clairsville,  was  one 
of  its  agents,  as  the  paper  shows.  The  subject  of  slavery 
is  discussed  from  eighty  to  ninety  times,  making  an  aver- 
age of  nearly*twice  in  each  weekly  number.  It  was  in 
the  beginning  of  this  year  that  the  American  Colonization 
Society  was  organized,  with  its  headquarters  at  Washing- 
ton, and  the  several  anti-slavery  societies  then  existing  in 
this  region  of  Ohio  were  all  in  favor  of  colonization  as  a 
scheme  of  gradual  emancipation,  as  were  those  throughout 
the  country  generally ; but  Mr.  Osborn  disagreed  with 
them.  He  opposed  the  scheme  in  repeated  editorials,  but 
allowed  both  sides  of  the  question  to  be  heard.  Various 
articles  were  admitted  favoring  the  policy  of  gradual 
emancipation,  but  not  a line  was  written  by  himself  in  its 
approval.  The  limits  of  this  article  will  not  permit  nu- 
merous or  lengthy  quotations  from  the  paper,  but  I offer  a 
few  as  specimens  of  its  general  character,  beginning  with 
the  editorials.  On  page  44  of  the  first  volume  is  the  fol- 
lowing on  colonization  : 

“ Without  in  anywise  wishing  to  forestall  public  opinion, 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


249 

or  give  a bias  against  the  intentions  of  the  American  Col- 
onization Society,  the  editor  has  great  doubts  of  the  justice 
of  the  plans  proposed.  It  appears  to  him  calculated  to 
rivet  closer  the  chains  that  already  gall  the  sons  of  Africa, 
and  to  insure  to  the  miserable  objects  of  American  cruelty 
a perpetuity  of  bondage.  The  free  persons  of  color  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  have  protested  against  being  sent  back 
to  a soil  which  separation  and  habit  have  combined  to  ren- 
der disagreeable  to  them.  The  communication  which  fol- 
lows is  inserted  because  the  author’s  intention  is  believed 
to  be  good,  and  because  every  investigation  of  the  subject 
will  tend  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  public  to  the  situation  of 
this  people.  Those  who  have  traveled  through  the  South- 
ern States,  and  observed  the  ignorance  and  vice  with  which 
slavery  has  enveloped  the  children  of  Africa,  can  hardly 
be  persuaded  that  they  are  now  fit  instruments  for  propa- 
gating the  Gospel.” 

On  page  37  is  the  following : 

“A  correspondent  says  the  coast  of  Africa  has  been 
robbed  of  its  natives,  who  have  with  their  sweat  and  blood 
manured  and  fertilized  the  soil  of  America.  If  their  de- 
scendants are  now  (by  way  of  reparation)  to  be  forced 
back  to  that  country,  whose  customs  and  whose  soil  are 
equally  repugnant  to  them — query,  are  the  thieves  or  the 
restorers  most  justifiable?  ” 

In  the  second  volume,  on  page  69,  is  a strong  editorial 
on  the  slave  trade  and  slavery.  After  referring  to  the  ac- 
tion of  England  and  Spain  in  dealing  with  this  subject,  it 
concludes  : 

“ But  much  remains  to  be  done.  The  system  of  slavery 
is  acknowledged  on  all  hands  to  be  an  evil  of  the  greatest 
magnitude ; and  it  will  require  a degree  of  energy  com- 
mensurate with  the  effects  it  has  upon  society  to  counteract 
its  baleful  influence,  and  now  is  the  time  for  the  advocates 
of  freedom  to  exert  themselves  to  overthrow  that  colossal 


250 


THE  RANK  OF 


fabric  of  despotism.  Let  the  enlightened  philanthropists 
of  either  hemisphere  continue  to  carry  on  the  benevolent 
work  until  they  have  finally  accomplished  the  same,  and  re- 
ceive the  just  reward  of  their  labors,  the  grateful  acknowl- 
edgements of  millions  of  their  fellow-mortals,  whom  they 
behold  emerging  from  the  gloomy  caverns  of  despair  and 
assuming  the  rank  among  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men 
to  which  they  are  entitled  by  the  laws  of  nature.  In  the 
language  of  one  of  the  greatest  orators  of  the  present  day, 
they  will  then  have  the  satisfaction  to  know  that  through 
their  instrumentality  a large  portion  of  their  fellow-crea- 
tures are,  politically  speaking,  * redeemed,  regenerated, 
and  disenthralled  by  the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipa- 
tion.’ ” 

It  will  occur  to  the  reader  as  altogether  probable  that 
the  name  of  Lundy’s  paper,  which  was  started  several 
years  afterward,  was  suggested  to  him  by  this  editorial. 
I quote  the  following  from  the  editorial  columns  on  page 

*54  • 

“A  planter  in  the  upper  part  of  Georgia  went  down  to 
Charleston  to  purchase  slaves.  A cargo  had  just  been 
landed.  They  were  set  up  at  auction,  declared  to  be 
sound  in  wind  and  limb,  and  were  struck  off  to  the  highest 
bidder.  This  planter  purchased  his  complement,  and  the 
driver  conducted  them  off.  On  the  way  to  Augusta  one 
of  the  women  accidentally  saw  the  man  who  had  been  her 
husband  in  Africa.  The  dissevered  pair  immediately  rec- 
ognized each  other,  and  their  feelings  at  this  unexpected 
meeting  may  be  conceived  by  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  conjugal  affection.  The  owner  of  the  husband  was 
moved  at  the  scene,  and  proposed  either  to  sell  or  buy, 
that  the  poor  creatures  might  live  together  on  the  same 
plantation  ; but  the  other,  hard-hearted  man,  would  do 
neither.  They,  of  course,  were  soon  parted  ; the  woman 
was  conducted  up  the  country,  and  soon  after  died  of 
grief.” 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


2 5 1 


This  is  one  of  sundry  articles  on  the  same  subject  de- 
picting acts  of  cruelty  similar  to  those  with  which  every 
reader  of  Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin  is  familiar.  In  the  same 
volume,  on  page  181,  is  an  able  and  thorough  article  on 
colonization,  from  which  I make  brief  extracts  : 

“ On  entering  into  this  investigation  we  should  bear  in 
mind  that  we  have  long  been  called  upon  (and  the  present 
moment  calls  loudly)  to  cease  to  violate  the  laws  of  God 
and  nature  in  holding  our  fellowmenin  a state  of  bondage. 
It  is  the  slaves  who  are  suffering  the  most  consummate 
misery,  and  it  is  the  melioration  of  their  condition  which 
demands  our  first  attention.  Whatever  laudable  schemes 
may  be  formed  for  promoting  civilization  on  the  continent 
of  Africa,  or  whatever  benevolent  designs  may  be  enter- 
tained for  the  benefit  of  the  free  people  of  color  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  or  whether  these  enterprises  are  directed 
by  a sound  or  a visionary  philosophy,  it  is  not  my  present 
purpose  to  inquire.  The  great  object  still  is  to  devise  some 
system  by  which  slavery  may  ultimately  be  terminated. 
If  African  colonization  is  not  directed  to  this  object,  or 
capable  of  effecting  it,  we  are  still  left  to  find  some  other 
expedient.” 

The  article  then  proceeds  to  show,  by  facts  and  figures, 
the  utter  impracticability  of  the  colonization  scheme,  and 
concludes : 

“ It  is  true  that  the  plan  might  produce  one  very  striking 
effect — it  might  amuse  our  minds  with  the  mistaken  idea 
of  doing  something  valuable,  until  that  Almighty  Being 
who  observes  the  conduct  of  nations  and  of  individuals 
may  in  his  wisdom  and  justice  deprive  us  of  the  opportun- 
ity of  being  the  instruments  in  so  laudable  a reformation 
by  taking  the  great  work  into  his  own  hands.  And  here 
my  mind  is  forcibly  struck  with  the  sentiment  of  one  of 
our  greatest  men : 4 When  I reflect  that  God  is  just,  and 

that  his  justice  can  not  sleep  forever,  I tremble  for  the  fate 
of  my  country.’  ” 


252 


THE  RANK  OF 


These  samples  will  indicate  the  decided  anti-slavery 
character  of  the  paper,  while  its  communications  and  se- 
lected matter  will  make  this  equally  evident.  The  first 
issue  contains  three  selections,  one  of  which,  being  very 
brief,  I quote : 

“ ‘ I am  astonished,’  said  an  intelligent  Turk,  ‘that  the 
Americans  should  send  a fleet  to  compel  the  surrender  of 
slaves  in  our  possession,  when,  in  their  own  country,  they 
keep  thousands  of  Africans  in  bondage.  They  had  better 
clean  their  hands  before  they  lift  them  toward  heaven.’  ” 

On  page  18  is  an  earnest  letter  on  slavery  from  Anthony 
Benezett.  On  page  32  is  an  address  from  a member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Manumission  Society,  of  the  most  radically 
anti-slavery  type.  On  page  35  is  an  obituary  notice  of 
Paul  Cuffe,  a successful  colored  merchant  and  a man  of 
signal  benevolence  and  enterprise  among  his  race.  On 
page  37  is  a strong  article,  probably  written  by  Benjamin 
Lundy,  over  the  signature  of  Philo  Justicia , and  a capital 
letter  from  Joseph  Doddridge,  from  which  I quote  the  fol- 

“ Can  we  charge  the  most  sore-handed  despotisms  in  ex- 
istence with  anything  worse  than  the  personal  slavery  of 
the  African  race  in  our  country?  No ! Even  in  the  pirat- 
ical states  of  the  Barbary  coast,  if  the  Christian  slave  turns 
Musselman,  he  is  free.  Amongst  us,  if  the  slave  becomes 
a Christian  brother,  he,  nevertheless,  still  remains  a slave.” 

Passing  several  brief  articles,  we  find  on  page  7 6 the 
beginning  of  a lengthy  one,  by  an  intelligent  colored  man 
named  William  Blackmore,  who  discusses  the  question 
with  considerable  ability.  In  the  course  of  it,  in  referring 
to  the  enemies  of  his  race  and  their  tribulations  in  the  dy- 
ing hour,  he  frames  for  them  the  following  prayer : 

“Almighty  and  incomprehensible  Being  ! Thou  know- 
est  a part  of  Thy  creation,  the  negroes  and  molattoes, 
have  long  been  objects  of  our  contempt ; and  we  have 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


253 


even  until  this  day  been  occasionally  tormented  with  a 
sight  of  their  black  faces.  We  have  seen  many  of  them 
in  the  slave  states  stripped  of  every  comfort  of  life,  desti- 
tute of  friends,  and  knowing  not  where  to  flee  for  succor 
and  safety,  and  in  this  deplorable  condition  we  passed  by 
and  left  them,  supposing  their  complicated  sufferings 
would  soon  push  them  out  of  existence  ; but  Thou  didst 
put  it  into  the  hearts  of  Thy  Samaritans  to  bring  these 
wretched  outcasts  into  this  great  inn  which  we  inhabit, 
and  to  administer  to  their  necessities.  With  the  assistance 
of  our  ally,  Prejudice , we  thought  before  this  to  have  con- 
vinced the  world  that  they  were  made  of  more  base  ma- 
terial than  we  white  people  ; but  Thy  great  Apostle  Paul 
declared  that  Thou  hast  ‘ made  of  one  blood  all  nations 
of  men.’  We  have  long  insisted  that  their  color  was  a 
sufficient  proof  that  they  are  of  a distinct  race  greatly  in- 
ferior to  us  ; but  Thou  hast  permitted  Blumenbach,  Smith 
and  others  to  write  so  wisely  upon  the  subject  that  many 
of  the  white  people  themselves  now  begin  to  think  that 
climate,  state  of  society,  manner  of  living,  etc.,  have  pro- 
duced the  external  differences  which  are  apparent  between 
them  and  us.  We  have  contended  again  that  the  negroes 
are  very  deficient  in  point  of  intellect ; but  Thou  hast  suf- 
fered it  to  enter  into  the  hearts  of  some  of  Thy  believers 
to  give  some  of  them  literary  knowledge,  and  so  we  are 
likely  to  be  overset  in  this  our  favorite  hypothesis.  We 
thought  because  we  had  the  power  it  would  be  well  enough 
to  take  away  from  them  their  natural,  inherent  and  un- 
alienable rights  and  privileges  ; but  Thou  hast  put  it  into 
the  hearts  of  certain  persons  in  this  state  to  think  that  we 
ought  to  do  unto  all  men  as  we  would  wish  them  to  do 
unto  us. 

“ Now  we  are  summoned  to  give  up  our  stewardship,  and 
seeing  that  we  have  not  succeeded  in  our  attempts  to  wrest 
Thy  attributes  out  of  Thy  hands  ; and  fearing  from  Thy 


254 


THE  RANK  OF 


many  gracious  promises  and  declarations  in  their  favor 
that  some  of  this  despised  people  have  been  admitted  into 
the  mansions  of  Thy  everlasting  rest ; we  therefore  humbly 
pray  Thee  that  Thou  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  cast 
their  black  souls  out  of  heaven  before  our  spirits  reach 
there  ; for  it  has  been  much  against  our  will  to  dwell 
amongst  them  the  few  days  of  this  life  ; and  how  can  we 
bear  the  idea  of  being  confined  among  them  to  all  etern- 
ity?  ” 

The  following  is  from  the  Chester  and  Delaware  Feder- 
alist, quoted  on  page  113  : 

“All  is  still  as  the  grave.  We  boast  that  ours  is  the  land 
of  freedom.  Here  liberty  dwells  ; this  is  the  spot  where 
the  sacred  tree  flourishes,  spreading  its  branches  east  and 
west,  shading,  protecting,  the  whole  land.  Our  consti- 
tution solemnly  declares  that  all  men  are  born  equally  free. 
The  enslaved  and  oppressed  of  Europe  are  welcomed  to 
our  shores  as  an  asylum  from  oppression.  We  rub  our 
hands  and  congratulate  one  another  that  we  are  the  most 
free  people  on  earth.  Gracious  heavens  ! and  is  it  yet  true 
that  more  than  twelve  hundred  thousand  of  our  fellow- 
creatures  are  doomed,  themselves  and  their  posterity,  to 
hopeless  bondage?  Where  are  our  abolition  societies? 
Are  they  weary  in  well-doing?  Where  are  those  intelli- 
gent, ardent,  benevolent  men  who  exist  in  every  country, 
who  step  forward  on  great  occasions,  animate  their  fellow- 
men  to  exertion,  and  direct  their  efforts  to  the  attainment 
of  noble  ends?  Are  the  spirits  of  Wilberforce,  Clarkson 
and  Benezett  extinct?  Or  is  it  true  that  nothing  can  be 
done?  No — nothing  can  he  done l Go  home  and  repose 
on  your  pillows  of  down  ; sleep  away  your  lives  in  indo- 
lence and  ease ; and  let  the  expression — nothing  can  be 
done — satisfy  your  consciences.  Let  the  husband  be  sep- 
arated from  his  wife,  the  mother  from  her  little  ones.  Let 
the  poor  slave  toil  in  hopeless  misery,  and  bleed  beneath 


CHARLES  OSBORN.  255 

the  lash  of  his  taskmaster.  It  will  be  useless  to  disturb 
Congress  with  your  petitions — nothing  can  be  done." 

On  page  169  is  an  article  by  “ E.  B.,”  a Virginian,  which 
ably  discusses  the  question  both  in  its  political  and  moral 
aspects.  I quote : 

“ It  is  not  only  absolutely  right  to  devise  some  remedy 
for  this  evil,  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary.  We  have  shut 
our  eyes  and  stopped  our  ears  too  long.  Can  we  continue 
indifferent  on  so  momentous  a subject?  We  are  called 
upon  by  honor,  morality,  and  religion — by  love  for  our 
country,  ourselves,  and  our  children.  Let  us  not  disre- 
gard these  sacred  obligations,  but  let  us  enter  into  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  subject.  Let  us  unite  into 
select  societies  for  the  purpose  of  digesting  a plan  for  the 
removal  of  this  enormous  evil,  and,  thus  united  in  order 
and  co-operating  under  the  ties  of  virtue,  honor,  and  love 
of  our  country,  the  difficulties  attendant  upon  the  subject 
will  vanish  before  the  wisdom  of  the  nation.  * * * It  is 
impossible  that  one  man  should  be  the  property  of  another. 
The  master  can  not  derive  his  claim  of  property  from  the 
law  of  nature,  because  by  that  law  all  men  are  equally 
free  and  independent.  He  can  not  derive  it  from  the 
principles  of  civil  government,  for  government  was  insti- 
tuted for  the  common  benefit,  protection,  and  security  of 
the  community,  and,  when  properly  supported,  admits  no 
man  or  set  of  men  to  the  possession  of  exclusive  privileges. 
He  can  not  refer  to  contracts  with  individuals,  nor  to  con- 
veyances from  parents  for  their  children,  for  no  one  will 
pretend  to  the  existence  of  such  contracts,  and  their  valid- 
ity could  not  be  supported  if  they  really  existed.  It  can 
not  be  rested  upon  law,  for  such  a law  must  be,  technically 
speaking,  unconstitutional.  The  constitution  defines  the 
object  of  government  and  the  rights  of  individuals.  These 
form  barriers  which  legislation  can  never  pass.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  boldly  affirmed  that  slaves  are  not  property. 


THE  RANK  OF 


2 56 

They  are  injured  human  beings,  whose  sufferings  call 
loudly  for  redress.” 

Mr.  Osborn  was  one  of  the  very  first  men  of  this  coun- 
try to  oppose  the  use  of  slave-grown  produce,  and  he  con- 
tinued personally  faithful  to  this  principle  during  his  life  ; 
while  the  Philanthropist  is  clearly  one  of  the  first  news- 
papers in  the  United  States  which  espoused  this  duty.  From 
an  article  copied  from  the  Westchester  Recorder , on  page 
174,  I quote  the  following  in  reference  to  the  slave  trade: 

“This  great  fountain  of  human  blood  that  has  been 
flowing  on  the  continent  of  Africa  for  ages,  whose  streams 
have  stained  the  shores  of  America  and  the  West  Indies, 
is  kept  in  motion  and  supported  by  the  consumers  of  the 
proceeds  of  slavery.  They  are  the  subscribers  that  fur- 
nish the  fund  by  which  the  whole  business  is  carried  on. 
A merchant  who  loads  his  vessel  in  the  West  Indies  with 
the  proceeds  of  slavery  does  nearly  as  much  at  helping 
forward  the  slave  trade  as  he  that  loads  his  vessel  in  Af- 
rica with  slaves.  They  are  both  twisting  the  rope  at  dif- 
ferent ends.  * * * It  is  something  paradoxical  that  a 

man  will  refuse  to  buy  a stolen  sheep,  or  to  eat  a piece  of 
one  that  is  stolen,  and  should  not  have  the  same  scruples 
respecting  a stolen  man.” 

But  I need  not  multiply  these  extracts,  which  I have 
given  merely  as  illustrations  of  the  spirit  and  make-up  of 
the  paper.  I must  not  fail  to  mention,  however,  a very 
able  and  eloquent  oration  on  slavery,  by  Thomas  H. 
Genin,  delivered  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  on  the  18th  of 
May,  1818,  which  is  printed  in  the  second  volume,  begin- 
ning on  page  77.  Mr.  Genin  came  from  New  York  to 
Ohio  the  year  before,  and  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Mr. 
Osborn.  He  also  shared  the  friendship  of  Charles  Ham- 
mond, Benjamin  Lundy  and  De  Witt  Clinton.  He  had 
considerable  literary  gifts,  and  was  the  correspondent  of 
Henry  Clay  and  John  Quincy  Adams  ; and,  although  the 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


257 


rhetoric  of  his  oration  is  a little  florid,  he  discusses  the 
slavery  question  with  great  thoroughness,  and  evinces  a 
surprising  insight  into  the  nature  and  working  of  the  in- 
stitution. All  the  arguments  and  sophisms  of  the  slave- 
holders with  which  the  country  has  been  familiar  in  later 
times  are  taken  up  and  disposed  of  in  this  effort  of  more 
than  seventy  years  ago  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  midst  of 
the  great  conflict  which  so  long  afterward  stirred  the 
blood  of  both  sections  of  the  Union.  The  speech  is  pro- 
phetic, and  deserves  to  be  preserved  as  a choice  relic  of 
the  literature  of  abolitionism  in  its  pioneer  days.  Let  me 
add,  that  I find  scattered  through  the  pages  of  the  Philan- 
thropist frequent  selections  of  anti-slavery  poems  from 
Cowper,  Shenstone,  Montgomery  and  others,  and  I en- 
tertain no  doubt  whatever  that  its  anti* slavery  character  is 
quite  as  clearly  defined  and  uncompromising  in  tone  as 
Lundy’s  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation , or  James  G. 
Birney’s  Philanthropist,  published  in  Cincinnati  in  later 
years. 

The  priority  of  Mr.  Osborn  in  the  establishment  of  this 
paper  has  already  been  shown.  He  sold  his  establishment 
to  Elisha  Bates,  and  not  to  Elihu  Embree,  as  Mr.  Greely 
states  in  his  “ Conflict”  ; and  Lundy,  not  liking  the  anti- 
slavery character  of  the  paper  under  his  management,  as 
he  declares  in  his  account  of  these  matters,  began  the  pub- 
lication, at  Mount  Pleasant,  of  the  Genius  of  Universal 
Emancipation , in  January,  1821,  being  three  years  and  a 
half  after  the  issue  of  the  first  number  of  the  Philan- 
thropist. These  facts  are  given  in  “The  Life  of  Ben- 
jamin Lundy,”  compiled  by  Thomas  Earle,  and  pub- 
lished in  1847.  We  there  learn,  on  the  authority  of 
Lundy,  in  speaking  of  the  previous  establishment  of  the 
Philanthropist , that  “proposals  were  issued  by  Charles 
Osborn  for  publishing  a paper  at  Mount  Pleasant,  to  be 
entitled  the  Philanthropist . He  stated  in  his  prospectus 


THE  RANK  OF 


258 

that  he  should  discuss  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  col- 
umns of  the  paper.  The  idea  now  occurred  to  me  that  I 
might  act  efficiently  for  the  cause  of  emancipation — that  I 
could  select  articles  (for  I did  not  think  of  writing  myself) 
and  have  them  published  in  the  Philanthropist , and  that  I 
could  also  get  subscribers  to  the  publication.  Engrossed 
with  these  thoughts,  I went  to  work  with  alacrity.  My 
leisure  moments  were  now  fully  employed.  When  I sent 
my  selections  to  Charles,  I sometimes  wrote  him  a few 
lines.  After  he  had  published  the  Philanthropist  a few 
months,  I was  surprised  at  receiving  from  him  a request 
that  I should  assist  in  editing  it.  The  thought  that  I could 
do  such  a thing  had  not  then  even  occurred  to  me.  But 
on  his  repeating  the  request  I consented  to  try,  and  from 
that  moment,  whenever  I have  thought  that  something 
ought  to  be  done,  my  maxim  has  been,  though  doubtful 
of  my  ability,  try . Although  I resided  ten  miles  from  the 
office,  and  was  extensively  engaged  in  other  business,  I 
continued  for  some  time  to  write  editorial  articles  for  the 
paper.  At  length  Charles  proposed  to  me  to  join  him  in 
the  printing  business,  and  to  take  upon  myself  the  super- 
intendency of  the  office.  After  some  deliberation  I con- 
sented to  accept  the  offer.”  It  seems,  however,  from  the 
narrative,  that  Lundy  never  joined  Osborn  in  the  printing 
business,  owing  to  circumstances  which  soon  after  drew 
him  to  Missouri,  and  that  his  only  connection  with  the 
Philanthropist  was  that  of  an  agent  for  the  paper,  and  the 
writer  of  occasional  articles  over  fictitious  signatures.  He 
had  nothing  to  do  with  originating  it,  or  superintending 
its  management,  and  acted  solely  in  the  capacity  of  a 
subordinate,  and  a diffident,  but  sympathetic  and  faithful, 
disciple  ; and  on  his  own  showing  the  establishment  of  the 
the  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  would  never  have 
been  attempted  if  Mr.  Osborn’s  successor  had  maintained 
the  anti-slavery  character  of  the  Philanthropist  under  its 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


259 


previous  management,  when  Lundy  himself  was  its  agent 
and  zealous  friend.  He  is,  therefore,  himself  my  witness 
that  the  honor  now  so  generally  claimed  for  him  of  being 
the  first  of  our  anti-slavery  pioneers  is  altogether  unwar- 
ranted by  facts. 

I have  thus  demonstrated  my  proposition  that  Charles 
Osborn  was  the  first  to  proclaim  the  doctrine  of  immediate 
and  unconditional  emancipation,  and  that  he,  and  not 
Lundy,  became  the  pioneer  of  modern  abolitionism  by 
editing  and  publishing  the  first  anti-slavery  paper  in  the 
United  States.  On  these  points  history  has  been  made  to 
bear  false  witness,  and  its  record  should  be  corrected. 
This  correction  will  not  pluck  a single  laurel  from  the 
saintly  brow  of  Benjamin  Lundy.  It  will  be  his  imperish- 
able honor  that  in  his  youth  he  surrendered  a lucrative 
business  and  the  sweet  joys  of  home  at  the  bidding  of  his 
conscience,  and  made  himself  a wanderer  on  the  earth  in 
the  effort  to  rouse  the  consciences  of  men  to  the  sin  of 
slavery.  His  devotion  to  humanity  was  a divine  fascin- 
ation, and  he  literally  gave  up  all  for  the  slave.  He  is 
also  entitled  to  the  signal  honor,  as  Oliver  Johnson  says, 
of  “ putting  the  burning  torch  of  liberty  into  the  hands  of 
the  man  raised  up  by  Providence  to  lead  the  new  crusade 
against  the  slave  power”;  but  Mr.  Osborn  kindled  the 
blaze  which  lighted  this  torch  of  his  Quaker  disciple. 
When  Lundy  afterward  met  Garrison  in  Boston,  in  1828, 
Mr.  Osborn  was  his  reference;  and  in  1847,  when  Mr. 
Garrison,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  met  a son  of  Mr.  Osborn, 
who  still  survives,  he  said  to  him:  “Charles  Osborn  is 
the  father  of  all  of  us  abolitionists.”  He  was,  in  fact,  the 
real  germ  of  the  grand  movement  that  drew  into  its  service 
so  many  heroes  and  martyrs  as  it  advanced,  and  finally 
swept  slavery' from  the  land,  just  as  the  quiet  lakelet  at 
the  head  of  the  Mississippi  is  the  source  of  the  great  river 
which  is  swelled  by  its  tributaries  till  lost  in  the  gulf.  Nor 


26o 


THE  RANK  OF 


can  the  claim  thus  made  weaken  in  any  degree  the  historic 
position  of  Mr.  Garrison  as  the  moral  hero  of  the  move- 
ment. His  indebtedness  to  Lundy  he  always  frankly  ac- 
knowledged ; and,  if  the  doctrine  of  immediate  and  un- 
conditional emancipation  was  announced  by  others  while 
he  was  a school-boy,  it  can  not  be  set  down  to  his  dis- 
credit, nor  does  it  follow,  by  any  means,  that  he  borrowed 
it  from  anyone.  I believe  it  was  the  inevitable  outcropping 
of  his  moral  constitution,  and  came  to  him  with  the 
authority  of  a divine  command.  He  did  not  need  to  take 
it  at  second-hand,  while  his  overmastering  personality  pop- 
ularized it,  and  imparted  to  it  a meaning  and  power  which 
quite  naturally  won  for  him  the  honor  of  its  paternity. 

In  justice  to  my  subject,  I must  not  conclude  this  article 
without  a brief  reference  to  the  controversy  already  al- 
luded to,  in  which  Mr.  Osborn  became  involved  in  his 
later  life  with  the  society  in  which  he  had  so  long  been  a 
prominent  member.  In  dealing  with  this  subject,  I shall 
speak  plainly,  but  in  no  unfriendly  spirit,  respecting  this 
most  comely  and  praiseworthy  body  of  religionists.  Of 
Quaker  parentage  and  training  myself,  my  predilections 
incline  me  strongly  in  their  favor.  During  my  protracted 
connection  with  anti-slavery  politics  in  one  of  the  strong- 
holds of  these  people  in  eastern  Indiana,  they  were  unit- 
edly and  earnestly  my  friends,  and  in  what  I shall  now 
say  I am  conscious  of  no  other  motive  than  the  service  of 
the  truth. 

The  year  after  Mr.  Osborn  sold  his  newspaper  establish- 
ment he  removed  to  Indiana.  Several  considerations  in- 
duced him  to  abandon  the  publication  of  his  paper.  He 
desired  to  go  further  west,  where  his  small  resources 
would  enable  him  to  procure  land  for  his  children.  He 
also  felt  that  the  influence  of  his  paper  was  seriously 
thwarted  by  the  mischievous  and  unmanageable  scheme 
ot  colonization ; while  he  believed  he  could  more  effec- 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


261 


tively  serve  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the  wider  field  of  the 
traveling  ministry,  in  which  Woolman  had  labored  with 
such  remarkable  results.  In  1832,  when  the  anti-slavery 
agitation  had  reached  its  fervent  heat  under  the  inspira- 
tion and  leadership  of  Garrison,  Mr.  Osborn  gave  his 
heart  to  the  work  with  renewed  zeal.  While  in  England 
in  that  year  he  met  Elliot  Cresson,  an  agent  of  the  Ameri- 
can Colonization  Society,  who  begged  him  not  to  say  any- 
thing that  would  hinder  the  raising  of  funds  in  aid  of  its 
work  ; but  Mr.  Osborn  replied  that  he  would  not  cease  to 
expose  its  evil  designs  at  home  and  abroad,  and  he  made 
Cresson’s  mission  a failure.  His  anti-slavery  zeal  fully 
kept  pace  with  the  multiplying  aggressions  of  slavery, 
and,  in  the  winter  of  1839,  visited  the  eastern  states, 
where  he  found  the  dominating  influences  among  Friends 
decidedly  opposed  to  his  testimonies,  and  inclined  to  keep 
him  silent,  but  he  would  not  be  fettered,  and  spoke  out  his 
whole  mind  freely.  Some  of  his  sermons  were  reported 
for  the  anti-slavery  newspapers,  and  these  lines  of  Whit- 
tier, inspired  by  a similar  circumstance,  were  quoted  as 
fitly  applying  to  this  intrepid  assertion  of  the  right  of  free 
speech : 

“Thank  God  for  the  token  ! one  lip  is  still  free — 

One  spirit  untrammeled,  unbending  one  knee  ; 

Like  the  oak  of  the  mountain,  deep-rooted  and  firm, 

Erect  when  the  multitude  bend  to  the  storm  ; 

When  traitors  to  freedom,  and  honor,  and  God, 

Are  bowed  at  an  idol  polluted  with  blood  ; 

When  the  recreant  North  has  forgotten  her  trust, 

And  the  life  of  her  honor  is  low  in  the  dust — 

Thank  God  that  one  arm  from  the  shackles  has  broken  ! 

Thank  God  that  one  man  as  a free-man  has  spoken  ! ” 

On  his  return  to  the  west  he  found  that  the  ruling  spirits 
in  the  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  had  also  taken  a very  de- 
cided stand  against  the  abolitionists.  The  colonization 
members  of  the  society,  by  some  strange  and  unaccount- 


262  THE  RANK  OF 

able  means,  had  gained  the  ascendancy  over  its  anti-slav- 
ery members,  and  he  was  greatly  troubled  in  mind  re- 
specting the  situation  in  which  he  found  himself  placed. 
In  the  year  1841  the  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  sanctioned 
a letter  of  advice  which  had  been  previously  issued  by  the 
meeting  for  sufferings  to  its  monthly  and  quarterly  meet- 
ings, forbidding  the  use  of  their  meeting-houses  for  anti- 
slavery lectures,  and  the  joining  in  anti-slavery  organiza- 
tions “with  those  who  do  not  profess  to  wait  for  Divine 
direction  in  such  important  concerns.”  The  meeting  also 
advised  against  anti-slavery  publications  by  Friends  with- 
out first  submitting  them  to  “ the  examination  of  a meet- 
ing for  sufferings.”  This  advice  was  unauthorized  by  the 
discipline  of  the  society,  and  directly  opposed  to  the  well- 
known  practice  of  Friends  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
It  showed  that  the  power  of  slavery,  which  had  taken 
captive  over  religious  denominations  throughout  the  coun- 
try, had  at  last  crept  into  the  society,  and  was  dictating 
its  action.  Charles  Osborn  was  then  a member  of  the 
meeting  for  sufferings,  which  is  a delegated  body  in  the 
society  acting  under  appointment,  like  a committee,  to 
transact  important  business  in  the  interim  of  the  regular 
sessions  of  the' Yearly  Meeting;  and  he  and  seven  other 
anti-slavery  members  occupying  the  same  position  declined 
to  obey  this  prohibitory  advice.  In  doing  so  they  justified 
themselves  by  the  discipline  and  usages  of  the  society  and 
its  well-known  testimonies  against  slavery.  They  felt  im- 
peratively bound  by  their  consciences  to  take  this  course, 
and  that  to  do  otherwise  would  be  to  recognize  the  infalli- 
bility of  the  Yearly  Meeting  and  its, right  to  bind  them  in 
all  cases  whatsoever.  For  this  action  these  eight  mem- 
bers were  summarily  removed  from  their  positions  as 
“ disqualified,”  and  their  places  filled  by  those  who  were 
willing  to  become  the  instruments  of  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  its  warfare  against  the  abolitionists. 


CHARLES  OSBORN.  263 

What  was  to  be  done?  These  men  had  not  violated  the 
discipline  of  the  society,  or  gone  counter  to  any  of  its  rec- 
ognized practices  and  testimonies.  They  were  not  accused 
of  any  unsoundness  in  doctrine  ; and  yet,  without  any  for- 
mal charges  of  misconduct  in  any  particular,  and  by  an 
act  of  wanton  usurpation,  they  were  degraded  from  the 
places  they  had  held.  They  begged  that  the  reasons  for 
this  action  might  be  spread  upon  the  minutes  as  a matter 
of  simple  justice  to  themselves,  and  in  order  that  they 
might  not  stand  recorded  as  transgressors,  and  Mr.  Os- 
born pleaded  for  this  in  a speech  of  much  power  and  full 
of  pathos  and  tenderness  ; but  this  petition  was  disre- 
garded, and  the  perfectly  unprecedented  and  arbitrary 
proceeding  was  carried  out.  If  they  submitted  to  this  act 
of  despotism  they  would  be  sharers  in  the  apostacy  of  the 
society  from  its  testimonies,  and  fellow-laborers  with  it 
against  the  slave.  If  they  persisted  in  their  disobedience 
they  would,  of  course,  be  disowned  for  thus  obeying  their 
own  consciences.  They  saw  but  one  honorable  or  decent 
alternative.  As  lovers  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  sin- 
cere believers  in  its  doctrines  and  discipline,  they  could 
go  out  of  the  body  which  had  cast  them  off  for  their  anti- 
slavery principles  and  violated  its  discipline  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  organize  a society  of  their  own,  with  its  ma- 
chinery of  monthly,  quarterly  and  yearly  meetings,  and 
free  from  all  pro-slavery  domination.  This  they  did, 
styling  themselves  the  Society  of  Anti-Slavery  Friends. 
They  were  driven  out  of  the  old  body  for  their  abolition- 
ism, and  Charles  Osborn  was  spoken  of  as  “ gone,  fallen, 
and  out  of  the  life,”  for  no  other  cause.  This  occurred  in 
1842,  at  the  yearly  meeting  which  gave  Henry  Clay,  the 
owner  of  fifty  slaves  and  president  of  the  American  Col- 
onization Society,  a seat  among  the  ruling  elders,  and 
who,  in  a public  speech  the  day  before,  had  declared  that 
“ the  slaves  must  be  prepared  for  freedom  before  they  can 


THE  RANK  OF 


264 

receive  that  great  boon,”  and  that  “the  Society  of  Friends 
take  the  right  stand  in  relation  to  this  subject.”  History 
was  thus  repeating  the  old  story  of  “Pilate  and  Herod 
friends,”  and  illustrating  the  desire  of  the  society,  as  ex- 
pressed by  its  meeting  for  sufferings  in  1841,  to  “ retain 
the  place  and  influence”  which  it  had  “heretofore  had 
with  the  rulers  of  our  land.”  There  was  a peculiar  sting 
in  the  saying  of  Mr.  Osborn  afterward  that  these  Friends 
“ deemed  it  a departure  from  the  well-known  principles  of 
the  society  to  do  anything  in  the  anti-slavery  cause  with- 
out a divine  impulse  and  clear  opening  in  the  light  of 
truth  leading  thereto  ; but  for  their  opposition  to  the  abo- 
litionists they  had  no  impulse,  no  opening,  to  wait  for.” 

It  will  probably  be  news  to  thousands  that  the  Quakers 
thus  succumbed  to  the  power  of  slavery  ; but  such  is  the 
melancholy  fact,  and  they  have  no  right  to  “ escape  his- 
tory .**  Among  the  rank  and  file  of  the  body  in  Indiana 
there  were  doubtless  very  many  true  anti-slavery  men  ; but 
at  the  time  of  which  I speak  the  chief  rulers  believed  in 
colonization  and  gradual  emancipation.  They  took  special 
pains,  in  dealing  with  legislative  bodies,  slave-holders  and 
the  public,  to  inform  them  that  they  had  no  connection,  in 
anyway,  with  abolitionism.  They  so  assured  Henry  Clay 
while  in  Richmond.  Leading  members  frequently  reiter- 
ated the  charge  that  abolitionists  had  “ put  back  the  cause 
of  emancipation  ” ; and  some  of  them  insisted  that  aiding 
slaves  on  their  way  to  Canada  involved  men  in  the  crime 
of  man-stealing.  Many  of  the  rulers  of  the  denomination 
in  the  eastern,  as  well  as  the  western,  States  had  “ their 
ears  filled  with  cotton.”  They  discoursed  very  piously 
about  the  attempt  of  abolitionists  “to  abolish  slavery  in 
their  own  strength,”  and  argued  that  paying  men  for  anti- 
slavery lectures  was  opposed  to  the  Quaker  testimony 
against  a “hireling  ministry.”  Ministers,  elders  and 
overseers,  took  the  lead  in  these  reactionary  proceedings  ; 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


265 


and  it  was  one  of  the  curiosities  of  human  nature  to  find 
the  followers  of  John  Woolman  and  Anthony  Benezett 
laboring  with  their  brethren  for  attending  anti-slavery 
meetings,  closing  the  doors  of  their  churches  against  anti- 
slavery lectures,  and  setting  up  a system  of  espionage  over 
the  publication  of  anti-slavery  articles  by  members  of  the 
society.  Such  men  as  Isaac  T.  Hopper,  among  the  Hick- 
site  Friends,  and  Arnold  Buffum,  among  the  Orthodox, 
were  disowned  for  their  fidelitv  to  the  slave.  This  work  of 
proscription  was  generally  based  upon  some  false  pretense, 
as  was  the  fact  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Buffum.  In  dealing 
with  Mr.  Osborn  and  his  associates,  the  Indiana  yearly 
meeting  did  its  best  to  cover  up  the  ugly  fact  that  they 
were  degraded  on  account  of  their  anti-slavery  principles. 
With  great  dexterity  in  the  use  of  scripture,  much  circum- 
locution, and  a cunning  and  tergiversation  that  would 
have  won  the  heart  of  Talleyrand  or  Loyola,  they  played 
their  game  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny  ; but  the  facts  of  the 
transaction,  as  now  seen  in  the  clear  perspective  of  his- 
tory, leave  them  perfectly  unmasked.  I have  carefully 
examined  the  documents  and  papers  pertaining  to  the  con- 
troversy on  both  sides,  and  speak  from  the  record.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  the  claims  of  justice  were  so  completely 
subordinated  to  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  society  that 
even  a deputation  of  English  Friends,  who  came  over  as 
mediators  in  this  trouble,  utterly  refused  to  look  into  the 
merits  of  the  controversy,  and  insisted  upon  the  uncon- 
ditional return  of  the  seceding  members  to  the  body  which 
had  so  flagrantly  trampled  upon  their  rights.  Humanity 
was  forgotten  in  the  service  of  a sect,  and  Quakerism 
itself  disowned  by  its  priesthood. 

But  the  anti-slavery  movement  took  an  unexpected 
turn.  The  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  war  with  Mexico 
roused  the  country,  and  poured  a flood  of  light  on  the 
character  and  designs  of  the  slave-holding  interest.  The 


anti-slavery  agitation  of  1848  and  the  passage  of  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Act  of  1850  brought  large  reinforcements  to  the 
cause  of  freedom.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise and  the  struggle  to  make  Kansas  a slave  State  still 
further  enlightened  the  people.  The  dullest  scholars  be- 
gan to  get  their  lessons.  Slave-holding  madness  so 
anointed  the  eyes  of  the  people  that  the  cloven  feet  of 
abolitionism  disappeared,  and  the  Quakers,  like  other 
religious  bodies,  began  to  take  a new  view  of  their  duties. 
“ The  world,”  on  which  they  turned  their  backs  in  1841  to 
avoid  its  44  contamination,”  had  at  last  taught  them  more 
wisdom  than  any  44  divine  impulse”  had  ever  been  able 
to  impart.  They  became  themselves  abolitionists,  and 
gloried  in  the  very  cause  which  provoked  their  contempt 
during  the  ugly  apostasy  they  had  parenthesized  into  the 
beautiful  anti-slavery  record  of  the  sect. 

But  did  they  do  justice  to  the  men  they  had  persecuted 
for  righteousness’  sake?  Did  they  make  any  official  ac- 
knowledgement of  the  wrong  they  had  done,  as  did  other 
religious  denominations  in  like  cases?  No.  Individual 
members  solicited  the  seceders  to  return  to  the  fold.  They 
said  to  them,  44  Come  back  to  us  ! No  questions  will  be 
asked,  and  no  conditions  exacted.  Make  no  disturbance, 
but  come  and  go  with  us.”  Most  of  the  seceders  finally 
returned,  but  some  of  them  demanded  an  amendment  of 
the  minutes  of  the  society  which  should  recognize  the  in- 
justice done  them  for  their  anti-slavery  fidelity.  This  was 
denied  in  all  such  cases,  and  they  stand  on  the  records  as 
“disqualified”  members.  Charles  Osborn  died  in  1850, 
a grieved  and  sorely-disappointed  old  man,  and  his  grief 
• would  not  have  been  assuaged  if  he  could  have  foreseen 
the  action  of  the  society  in  refusing  to  correct  its  records 
after  it  had  espoused  the  very  principles  for  the  advocacy 
of  which  he  had  been  exiled  from  its  bosom.  Harshly 
and  unjustly  as  he  had  been  treated,  he  would  scarcely 


CHARLES  OSBORN. 


267 

have  believed  this  possible.  But  the  society  w&s  handi- 
capped by  its  record.  Much  as  it  owed  Mr.  Osborn,  mor- 
ally and  spiritually,  its  love  of  consistency  and  the  crav- 
enness of  human  nature  triumphed  over  its  conscience.  It 
could  not  do  him  justice  without  condemning  itself.  It 
could  not  espouse  his  cause  as  a faithful  minister  of  the 
Gospel  and  an  anti-slavery  prophet  without  advertising  its 
recreancy  to  humanity  and  its  injustice  to  a great-hearted 
and  brave  man. 

But  the  friends  of  humanity,  irrespective  of  sect  or  party, 
should  join  in  fitly  honoring  him.  During  his  life  aboli- 
tionism was  a despised  thing.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
glory  which  was  so  soon  to  come,  nor  anticipate  its  com- 
ing. As  to  his  reputation,  he  took  no  thought  for  the 
morrow.  The  newspaper  which  proves  his  right  to  be 
ranked  as  the  first  of  our  anti-slavery  pioneers  seems  only 
to  have  been  preserved  by  an  accident.  The  memory  of 
other  faithful  pioneers  has  been  carefully  and  lovingly 
guarded  ; but  history  has  slighted  his  record,  and  liberty, 
in  searching  for  her  jewels,  has  strangely  overlooked  his 
name.  Touched  by  these  facts,  and  believing  that  “no 
power  can  die  that  ever  wrought  for  truth,”  I have  felt 
commanded  to  do  my  part  in  the  work  of  adding  a new 
star  to  the  galaxy  of  freedom,  a new  name  to  the  roll-call 
of  reformers.  If  I have  succeeded  in  any  degree  in  this 
labor  of  love,  I shall  rejoice;  but,  in  any  event,  I shall 
share  the  satisfaction  which  attends  a sincere  endeavor  to 
serve  the  truth. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


Volume  ii. 


Number  7- 


THE  MAN  IN  HISTORY 


AN  ORATION 

FOR  THE  COLUMBIAN  YEAR 

BY 

JOHN  CLARK  RIDPATH 


Delivered  under  the  Auspices  of  the  Indiana  Historical  Society, 
at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  October  20,  1892. 


INDIANAPOLIS : 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1893. 


TO 

HONORABLE  WILLIAM  H.  ENGLISH, 

President  of  the  Indiana  Historical  Society. 


(270) 


* 


THE  MAN  IN  HISTORY 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

Man  and  History  ! What  are  the  ideas  which  these  two 
transcendent  words  bring  before  the  mind  of  the  inquirer? 
In  what  manner — by  what  evolution  of  thought  and  im- 
agery — may  we  justly  estimate  the  great  facts  for  which 
they  stand,  and  determine  their  relations  and  dependencies 
in  the  drama  of  the  world? 

I am  not  unaware  that  for  the  problems  here  vaguely 
suggested  some  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  ages  have 
essayed  an  answer.  The  thinkers  of  the  Old  World  and 
the  New,  in  ancient  times  and  in  modern  times,  have 
sought  with  varying  degrees  of  approximation  to  reach  a 
just  concept  of  the  thing  called  History  and  of  the  place 
which  Man  has  in  it.  In  the  luminous  thought  of  the  great 
Greeks  the  problem  of  the  event  and  the  man — of  the 
maker  and  the  thing  made — hung  like  a haunting  shadow. 
Already  by  that  most  intellectual  of  all  the  peoples  of  the 
earth  history  was  studied  both  in  its  facts  and  its  philoso- 
phy ; but  the  bottom  questions  of  the  inquiry  remained 
nebulous  and  unresolved.  Then  came  ages  of  eclipse  and 
darkness.  There  were  vast  reaches  of  intervening  barba- 
rism, flecked  with  dim  patches  of  light  at  Alexandria,  at 
Cordova,  at  Florence,  at  Rome,  and  anon  at  Paris  and  the 
Bridge  of  the  Cam.  In  modern  times  the  mind  of  man  has 
recurred  as  best  it  may  to  this  grandest  of  all  the  de- 
partments of  human  inquiry,  and  has  wrestled  with  the 

(271) 


272 


THE  MAN 


chaos  which  the  warring  races  of  mankind  have  piled  up 
along  the  far  horizons  of  the  world. 

The  dawn  of  the  new  era  of  human  thought — the  com- 
ing of  the  time  when  the  intellectual  sphere  should  be 
sufficiently  widened  to  consider  rationally  the  history  of 
our  race  and  the  philosophical  place  of  man  therein — has 
been  long  postponed.  It  has  remained  for  our  own  age  to 
solve  many  of  the  riddles  transmitted  from  the  ancient 
world.  The  mind  has  begun  to  rise  at  last  to  higher  con- 
cepts and  grander  visions  of  the  vast  landscape,  and  to 
note  the  metes  and  bounds  of  man-life  on  the  earth.  With- 
out doubt,  the  landscape  has  not  yet  been  wholly  cleared 
of  fog  and  shadow.  It  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  cosmos 
that  is  to  be.  It  is  the  day-breaking  of  a great  intellectual 
epoch  the  like  of  which  was  not  even  conceived  in  the 
dreams  and  hopes  of  the  ages  past.  We  have  come  to  the 
morning.  Of  the  nineteenth  century  it  shall  be  said  here- 
after, “At  the  evening  it  was  light.”  The  nebulae  in  the 
ethereal  spaces,  long  floating,  dim,  cloud-formed,  swan- 
like in  the  depths  around  us,  divide  themselves  into  shin- 
ing worlds,  and  new  systems  of  order  and  beauty  rise  on 
the  right  hand  and  the  left. 

These  systems  of  order,  which  indeed  the  mind  of  man 
has  not  created,  but  has  only  gone  forth  to  discover,  are 
not  so  much  material  as  they  are  intellectual  and  spiritual. 
This  age  is  to  be  known  hereafter  for  the  discovery  of  new 
worlds  hitherto  unfound  or  only  vaguely  conjectured — new 
worlds  not  of  matter,  but  of  thought  and  truth.  In  the 
visible  heavens  Mars  and  Jove  are  no  longer  the  Mars  and 
Jove  of  the  old  mythology,  no  longer  the  far-off  planets 
of  Kepler  and  Herschel  and  Leverrier,  but  the  revealed 
worlds  of  Holden  and  Pickering  and  Schiaparelli.  They 
have  rolled  out  of  the  cloudland  with  their  satellites,  their 
continents  and  shores,  with  their  lakes  and  canals  and  vital 
atmosphere.  Shall  we  not  also  say  with  their  living  men? 


IN  HISTORY. 


273 


In  like  manner  in  the  sky  of  thought  the  revelation  of 
things  hitherto  unknown  has  come,  as  if  by  glorious  dis- 
covery. There  the  vast  system  of  Evolution,  explanatory 
of  the  method  of  creation  and  all  progress,  has  been  found, 
with  its  beautiful  concomitants  of  law  and  order,  with  its 
sublime  principles  of  life-history  and  its  inspiring  promises 
of  the  things  to  come.  There  also  has  been  found  the 
planet  of  Human  History,  now  first  discovered  in  definite 
outline  and  sunlit  disc,  felt  only  hitherto  as  Uranus  was 
felt  by  Adams  ere  the  astronomer  beheld  it  with  the  eye. 
History  like  the  other  worlds  has  taken  its  place  under  the 
magnificent  reign  of  law  ; her  planetary  orb  is  clear  and 
bright ; her  continents  and  her  seas  are  there  ; there  are 
her  rivers  and  her  thoroughfares  ; her  mountain  chains  and 
her  lakes  of  bubbling  silver. 

Than  this  no  greater  world  has  been  discovered  in  an- 
cient or  in  modern  times.  Than  this  Galileo  himself  with 
his  little  telescope  in  the  old  tower  of  St.  Mark,  with  the 
skeptical  doge  beside  him,  beheld  not  a more  glorious  new 
system  of  worlds  and  stars.  They  indeed  shall  grow  old 
and  go  out  in  darkness ; but  this  New  World  of  Man-life, 
passing  out  of  chaos  into  order  and  law,  is  of  the  substance 
of  truth  and  eternity.  Like  the  orbs  above  us,  history  has 
emerged  from  chaotic  fire-mist  and  cloud,  and  has  rolled 
in  clear  outline  upon  the  vision.  Through  the  halo  and 
splendor  of  the  new  morning  we  see  men  with  sunlight  for 
garments  and  with  flaming  sandals,  walking  as  the  trees 
along  the  luminous  horizon  of  life. 

But  what  is  History?  That  is  the  great  question  with 
which  we  are  concerned.  In  what  outlines  does  she  re- 
veal herself,  now  that  she  has  become  cosmic  and  beauti- 
ful to  the  eye  of  science  and  of  poetry?  History  is  no 
more,  as  she  was,  a queen  of  shreds  and  patches.  She  is 
no  more  chaotic,  lawless,  perturbed,  distraught  with  wild 
visions  and  broken  dreams.  Let  us  see,  if  we  may,  what 


274 


THE  MAN 


manner  of  creature  this  is  which  the  better  thought  of  our 
age  has  made  visible  to  our  senses  and  understandings. 

In  the  languages  and  thought  of  men  the  word  history 
has  had  meanings  not  a few.  The  diverse  senses  of  the 
term  have  confused,  almost  confounded,  the  understand- 
ing of  the  inquirer.  First  of  all,  the  word  history  has  been 
used  as  the  name  of  those  puny  writings,  those  formal  nar- 
ratives of  events,  which  men  have  produced  and  in  which 
they  have  attempted  to  record  the  annals  of  the  past.  It 
was  in  this  sense  that  the  Greeks  first  coined  and  used  their 
word  historia.  It  was  written  story,  a narrative  of  things 
done  and  accomplished  by  men,  a statement  of  facts  and 
principles.  Thus  began  the  man-made  transcript,  the  poor 
picture  which  the  ingenious  mind  by  the  unstable  vehicle 
of  human  speech  has  sought  to  delineate  on  paper,  to 
carve  on  stone  tablets,  to  print  at  length  with  movable 
types,  to  bind  up  in  books,  and  to  set  in  libraries  as  the 
story  of  the  world. 

History,  in  this  first  sense,  is  the  thing  as  man  has  seen 
it,  and  said  it,  and  transmitted  it  to  his  fellows.  Rather  is 
it  his  -picture  of  the  thing  ; it  is  his  little  ambrotype  printed 
on  sheet  of  tin — his  photograph  done  cunningly  on  film  of 
paper.  He  has  set  up  his  camera  and  looked  through  it 
at  the  world.  He  has  covered  his  head  with  the  black 
cloth,  fixed  his  focus,  and  looked  forth  at  the  little  inverted 
images  of  the  landscape.  Lo,  in  that  landscape  are  rivers 
and  plains,  interminable  forests,  precipices  with  gnarled 
oaks  and  eagles,  vast  mountains  capped  with  snow,  green 
earth  stretching  to  infinite  distance,  and  giant  clouds  float- 
ing on  high,  wrought  into  shining  palaces  and  islands  of 
light  and  glory  ! And  yet  this  poor  ambrotype,  this  pho- 
tograph, two  inches  by  four,  written  into  dead  miniature 
with  sun-pencil  through  an  inch-broad  lens  of  glass,  is 
supposed  to  contain  the  landscape  ! Such  is  the  confusion 
of  human  thought  that  the  picture  is  confounded  with  the 


IN  HISTORY. 


275 


landscape,  and  the  names  of  the  two  are  mixed  and  inter- 
changed ! The  photograph,  dim,  obscured,  blurred,  less 
than  a palm-breadth,  traced  with  dead  lines  on  perishable 
paper — this  is  history  ! This  is  agreed  upon  as  the  ade- 
quate transcript  of  the  vast  arena  of  the  world,  filled  with 
life,  brilliant  with  sun  and  air,  tossing  with  activities,  shad- 
owed with  infinite  griefs  and  luminous  with  eternal  hope  ! 

Strange  it  is  how  long  mankind  were  satisfied  with  in- 
significant 'pictures  of  the  life  and  deeds  of  men  ! It  seems 
to  suffice  that  the  mind  had  become  curious  to  know  the 
past,  and  had  sought  to  reproduce  it  with  letters  and  mon- 
uments. To  this  day,  in  the  half-gloom  of  libraries  the 
world  over,  assiduous  scholars,  thinkers  whose  eyes  have 
been  dimmed  with  years  of  application,  iconoclasts  with 
ax  and  torch,  ambitious  neophytes  and  wrinkled  sages  sit 
poring  by  daylight  and  lamplight  over  the  faint  lines  of 
the  man-made  pictures  which  we  call  history ! Out  of 
that  they  would  discover  the  past,  determine  the  laws  of 
human  society,  and  reorganize  the  world. 

There  is  thus,  first  of  all,  a written  history,  small,  indis- 
tinct, obscure,  disfigured  with  prejudice,  seen  crosswise 
with  strabismic  eyes,  streaked  in  every  part  with  the  taints 
and  obliquity  of  the  minds  by  which  it  has  been  produced. 
But  let  not  any  contemn  this  poor  record  of  the  world. 
Rather  let  us  guard  it  and  admire  it  as  the  greatest  legacy 
transmitted  by  the  human  race  to  its  offspring.  For  by 
this  we  know  whatever  may  be  known  of  the  past.  Let  it 
be  noted  with  care  that  written  history,  however  imperfect 
and  meager,  however  blind  in  its  transcript  and  explana- 
tion of  the  order  and  processes  of  man-life  on  the  earth,  is 
our  only  resource.  Without  it  all  the  past,  of  which  in- 
deed we  know  so  little,  would  suddenly  resolve  into  the 
darkness  of  oblivion  and  be  seen  no  more  forever. 

If  written  history  were  destroyed,  our  knowledge  of  the 
career  of  our  race  could  never  be  regained.  Other  things 


THE  MAN 


276 

may  be  restored  or  built  anew.  All  science,  for  example, 
might  be  quickly  recreated  if  every  word  that  man  has 
written  on  scientific  subjects  were  suddenly  struck  into 
night  and  silence.  All  those  vast  philosophies  with  which 
the  human  reason  has  so  much  beguiled  itself  might  be 
made  again  out  of  the  original  materials.  If  every  para- 
graph and  line  which  has  been  penned  on  abstract  inquiry 
were  reduced  to  gas  and  ashes,  the  whole  might  spring 
anew  out  of  the  soil  which  first  produced  it.  So  also  of 
other  achievements  of  the  mind  and  hand.  All  architect- 
ure and  arts  might  be  done  anew,  or  by  restoration,  if  the 
real  architecture  and  arts  of  past  and  present  ages  were 
swallowed  into  dust  and  darkness. 

But  not  so  written  history.  Who  could  reconstruct  a 
single  paragraph  lost  from  the  records  of  the  ancient 
world?  If  written  history  were  destroyed,  to  what  should 
we  appeal  in  the  hope  of  recovering  our  knowledge  of  the 
past?  A few  hints  might  still  be  gathered  from  archi- 
tectural remains.  Possibly  something  might  be  recon- 
structed by  studying  the  existing  laws  of  human  conduct, 
and  by  tracing  backwards  for  a short  distance  the  lines  of 
dim  tradition  ; but  for  the  rest,  our  knowledge  of  the  world 
gone  by,  of  the  emergence  of  human  tribes  from  barbarism, 
of  the  development  of  our  race  into  nations  and  peoples,  of 
their  rise  into  greatness  and  their  descent  again  into  shame 
and  savagery,  depends  wholly  upon  such  records  as  in- 
genious man  has  contrived  for  the  transmission  of  his 
deeds  and  fame  to  after  ages. 

This  record  then  is  history — as  the  ancients  understood 
it.  It  is  an  account  of  events  and  institutions,  done  with 
such  poor  skill  as  the  writers  have  possessed.  It  is  an  im- 
perfect, an  interrupted  narrative  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  na- 
tions, of  the  transformations  of  society,  of  particular  epi- 
sodes in  the  evolution  and  whirl  of  mankind,  and  especially 


IN  HISTORY. 


277 

of  the  part  which  the  great  actors  here  and  there  have 
taken  in  the  drama. 

But  what  does  written  history  signify?  What  is  im- 
plied in  the  existence  and  study  of  such  a fact  as  a his- 
torical work?  Is  it  possible  that  we  are  curious  with  a 
mere  book  of  records?  Or  do  we  look  for  something  else? 
Do  we  study  a book  when  we  study  history?  More  prop- 
erly, may  we  find  history  in  a book?  Is  this  the  thing  for 
which  we  are  searching,  or  do  we  not  seek  another?  Do 
we  study  history — written  history — merely  as  we  would 
critically  consider  a literary  product?  Or  do  we  look 
through  it  and  beyond  it  to  the  things  which  it  seeks  to 
reveal?  Is  there  not  another  and  real  history  of  which  the 
book-history  is  but  a passing  shadow?  Is  it  the  shadow 
or  the  substance  which  we  would  discover  and  understand  ? 
Do  we  not  easily  perceive  that  all  written  history  con- 
sidered in  itself  is  but  a mere  simulacrum — a reduced  dead 
image  of  some  great  fact  as  much  more  sublime  than  the 
transcribed  images  of  the  printed  page  as  the  open  heavens 
with  their  galaxies  and  rolling  worlds  are  more  sublime 
than  star-maps  and  orreries? 

It  is  questions  such  as  these  and  the  answers  to  them 
that  have  brought  us  at  length  to  look  through  all  written 
history  to  the  real  history  beyond.  In  truth,  the  real  his- 
tory is  the  only  history,  and  the  rest  is  but  an  image.  In- 
deed, we  scarcely  any  longer  in  the  more  exact  and  scien- 
tific language  of  our  day  use  the  word  history  of  the  lit- 
erary reproduction,  but  only  of  the  facts  and  events  which 
are  reflected  therein.  He  who  studies  astronomy  may  be 
interested  with  the  telescope  ; but  the  telescope  is  not  the 
stars.  He  may  concern  himself  with  the  lenses  and  the 
adjustment,  with  the  chronometer  and  the  mounting,  with 
the  machinery  of  the  dome  and  the  record  of  temperatures  ; 
but  none  of  these  things  are  astronomy.  The  astronomy 
is  yonder.  The  telescope  is  but  an  eye  through  which  the 


THE  MAN 


278 

real  astronomy  is  discovered.  The  circle  and  the  transit 
are  but  means  to  the  end  of  that  star-lore  the  seat  of  which 
is  far  away  on  high. 

In  like  relation  stands  all  book-history  to  the  real  history 
of  the  world.  The  real  history  is  the  event,  and  not  the 
reflection  of  it  in  some  poor  labored  page  done  by  the 
groping  genius  of  man.  The  real  history  stands  far  off 
yonder  in  the  past.  It  issues  out  of  primeval  shadows  and 
darkness.  It  comes  hitherward  on  trial  marches,  turning 
in  this  direction  and  in  that  as  it  moves  among  the  mists  and 
shadows  of  the  dawn.  It  covers  itself  with  mythology  and 
tradition.  It  shows  itself  in  tribe-life  and  clan-life.  It 
swings  great  clubs  in  battle  with  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
primeval  world.  It  makes  its  home  in  caverns,  in  lake- 
villages,  in  rude  tents,  by  the  wave-washed  shores  of  the 
sea.  It  issues  into  nationality.  It  founds  cities  and  cre- 
ates institutions.  It  becomes  conscious  and  instinct  with 
rational  activities.  It  throws  off  its  barbaric  raiment  and 
puts  on  the  habiliments  of  the  civilized  life.  It  builds 
temples  and  palaces  of  stone,  and  adorns  its  structures,  re- 
producing in  the  forms  of  art  the  concepts  of  the  mind. 
The  epic  and  the  lyric  are  heard  above  the  resonance  of 
clashing  shields.  There  is  noise  in  the  porches  of  senate- 
houses  and  councils  in  the  chambers  of  great  kings.  Civ- 
ilization begins  her  stately  advances,  and  the  world  is 
planted  with  commonwealths  and  empires.  Commerce  on 
white  wings  traverses  all  seas.  All  coasts  and  oceans, 
from  the  Great  Dipper  to  the  Southern  Cross,  are  visited 
by  the  adventurous  sons  of  men.  They  join  hands  around 
the  continents,  and  girdle  the  earth  in  final  internationality 
and  peace.  It  is  a drama,  with  mankind  for  the  actors, 
the  earth  for  a stage,  and  the  downhanging  sky  and  clouds 
for  curtains. 

This  is  real  history — history  in  the  second  sense.  It  is 
the  great  movement  of  the  human  race  from  its  beginning 


IN  HISTORY. 


279 

to  the  consummation  of  its  career.  It  is  an  action  vast  as 
the  world  and  long  as  the  measuring-reed  of  time.  It  is  a 
scene  so  tremendous  and  vital  in  all  its  parts  that  the  most 
lucid  narrative  of  the  stage  and  the  actors  is  but  a passing 
glimpse,  a mere  image  of  frost-work  and  evanescent 
shadow. 

We  thus  fix  our  attention  upon  the  thing — the  event  it- 
self— and  call  that  history.  We  discover  the  character  of 
events,  their  form  and  substance,  the  aspect  which  they 
show  to  the  understanding,  their  transformation  and 
changes.  We  note  with  wonder  the  variety  of  the  facts 
in  the  human  panorama.  Some  are  transient  as  the  wind 
and  dew,  and  some  seem  fixed  and  eternal  as  the  moun- 
tains and  skies.  Some  events  are  of  a kind  to  change  the 
surface  of  the  earth  ; to  put  refinement  for  barbarism  ; to 
substitute  orchards  for  thickets  and  fields  for  forests  ; to 
make  hillslopes  into  terraces;  to  turn  the  channels  of 
rivers  ; to  beat  the  grassy  plain  into  a blistered  mustering- 
ground  under  the  tramping  feet  of  armies.  Other  events 
change  the  nature  of  man  rather  than  the  aspect  of  the 
world.  They  are  the  institutions  such  as  he  seeks  and 
creates  for  the  gratification  of  his  desires  and  the  freer 
exercise  of  his  powers.  They  are  the  family,  the  com- 
munity, the  state.  They  are  social  systems,  priestly 
systems,  military  systems,  and  systems  of  economy.  They 
are  schools,  gymnasia,  assemblies  of  the  people.  They  are 
customs  made  into  laws,  mythologies  becoming  science, 
and  commotions  and  wars  wrought  into  constitutions. 
They  are  industries  and  arts,  commercial  systems  and  the 
intercourse  of  the  people.  All  these,  whether  concrete 
and  visible  to  the  eye  or  abstract  intellectual  forces  play- 
ing upon  the  sentiments  and  purposes  of  men,  are  a part 
of  the  facts  and  events  which  constitute  the  real  history  as 
distinguished  from  the  book  history  of  mankind.  They 
are  extended  through  time  and  space.  They  spread  over 


28o 


THE  MAN 


continents  and  seas.  They  establish  themselves  on  re- 
mote shores.  They  flourish  in  ancient  river  valleys. 
They  clamber  up 

• * * “Castle  walls 
And  snowy  summits  old  in  story.” 

They  move  along  vast  thoroughfares,  worn  smooth  with 
the  pattering  feet  of  nations  through  ages  of  migration 
and  .travel.  They  penetrate  the  jungles  of  the  tropics ; 
voyage  from  land  to  land,  and  fix  themselves  in  the  very 
snows  from  which  the  borealis  flames  up  and  clutches 
with  its  tulip  fingers  the  spokes  of  Charles’s  Wain. 

It  would  appear  that  having  passed  from  the  written 
page  to  the  consideration  of  the  real  history  of  the  world 
— having  substituted  the  momentous  facts  and  events  in 
which  human  life  has  displayed  itself  through  the  ages 
for  the  poor  pictorial  delineations  of  the  printed  leaf — we 
might  with  that  be  satisfied.  Having  found  the  event  and 
named  it  history,  we  might  well  say  “ Eureka,”  and  rest. 
But  the  progress  of  inquiry  forbade  the  pause  and  de- 
manded an  additional  interpretation.  For  a time  after  the 
attention  of  thinkers  and  historians  was  turned  from  the 
written  to  the  real  history,  from  the  story  to  the  fact,  that 
seemed  to  satisfy  ; but  within  our  own  age  it  satisfies  no 
longer.  That  kind  of  historical  inquiry  which  consists  of 
the  consideration  of  the  facts  and  events  in  the  career  of 
mankind  took  the  place  of  the  romantic  story-telling  which 
had  formerly  held  sway,  and  men  believed  they  had  dis- 
covered the  true  history  of  the  world  ; but  the  time  came 
when  the  study  of  mere  facts  and  events,  disconnected  and 
regarded  singly  and  without  respect  to  the  laws  of  their 
sequence  and  evolution,  no  more  could  satisfy  the  demands 
of  reason. 

Now  it  was  that  science  and  philosophy  entered  the 
arena.  Now  it  was  that  with  the  increase  of  light  and 
knowledge  another  and  higher  concept  of  history  was 


IN  HISTORY. 


281 

gained.  It  became  evident  that  the  facts  and  the  events  of 
our  human  drama,  however  perfectly  investigated  and 
known,  do  not  of  themselves  suffice.  It  was  seen  that  un- 
less the  laws  of  order,  arrangement,  and  causation  could 
be  applied  to  the  phenomena  of  man-life,  a knowledge  of 
its  aspects  and  partial  developments  was  of  no  avail. 
Dimly  at  first,  and  more  definitely  afterwards,  it  was  dis- 
cerned that  the  principles  of  scientific  knowledge  must 
be  applied  to  the  events  of  human  history  and  the  events 
be  thereby  interpreted  in  their  relations  and  dependencies, 
else  all  the  painstaking  delineations  of  mere  facts,  all  the 
pictorial  descriptions  and  romantic  episodes  with  which 
the  libraries  of  the  world  are  crowded,  are  but  inane  and 
empty  images. 

The  mind  stood  before  the  problem  just  as  it  has  stood 
at  a certain  stage  in  every  department  of  physical  inquiry. 
For  ages  the  planets  were  seen  wandering  through  the 
zodiac.  All  of  them  as  far  out  as  Uranus  had  been  found 
and  named  and  studied.  The  old  star-gazers  of  the  Mes- 
opotamian plain,  the  sages  of  Egypt,  the  Arabian  astron- 
omers of  Spain,  and  the  scholars  and  poets  of  the  Italian 
cities  had  viewed  the  planetary  worlds  and  marked  their 
motions.  But  none  as  }^et  perceived  that  a planet  was  other 
than  a planet.  It  was  simply  a wandering  star.  It  moved 
from  place  to  place,  and  was  known  as  a fact  in  the  heav- 
ens. Even  its  coming  and  its  going  were  noted  and  fore- 
told. All  the  nearer  bodies  of  our  cluster  were  seen  and 
curiously  traced  in  their  capricious  movements  across  the 
skies.  The  phenomena  of  the  heavens  were  recorded 
in  maps  and  charts.  The  sun’s  face  was  darkened  in 
eclipse,  and  the  moon  at  intervals  hid  herself  in  the  omi- 
nous shadow  of  the  earth.  The  facts  were  known,  but 
they  had  no  connection  or  significance  to  the  understand- 
ing. Suns  and  worlds  were  discovered,  but  not  that  system 
of  worlds  of  which  they  are  but  the  component  parts. 


282 


THE  MAN 


Overhead  was  the  vast  concave  of  the  sky,  studded  with 
points  of  fire,  and  flushed  day  by  day  with  the  glories  of 
the  sun.  But  system  there  was  none.  Each  fact  took  its 
own  course,  and  was  unbound  with  law  or  correlation.  It 
was  not  even  imagined  that  a great  cluster  of  revolving 
spheres  was  fixed  about  our  central  globe  of  fire  ; much 
less  was  it  dreamed  that  the  sun  himself  is  only  a minor 
star  in  a larger  system  and  galaxy  of  worlds  swimming 
nebulous  in  the  infinities  of  space. 

Behold  how  all  this  by  the  aid  of  the  telescope  has  been 
resolved  ! Behold  how  the  revealed  laws  of  gravitation 
bind  it  together  into  one  ! Behold  how  chaos  passes  away, 
and  cosmos  is  instituted  in  its  stead  ! System  rises  on  sys- 
tem, until  the  universe  is  seen  to  be  whole  and  consistent 
to  all  its  infinite  borders.  Further  inquiry  shows  us  the 
more  complete  dominion  of  law.  Unity  appears  under  all 
the  archways  of  eternity.  All  isolation  passes  away.  No 
part  of  universal  nature  is  any  longer  detached.  Not  even 
a meteorite  dashing  with  portentous  train  of  flame  across 
the  heavens  is  broken  from  the  system  of  eternal  order. 
No  comet,  diving  up  or  down,  wheeling  feather-like  around 
the  remote  turning-stakes  of  its  orbit,  but  obeys  the  behest, 
and  holds  fast  its  place  under  the  reign  of  law. 

We  need  not  pursue  the  illustration.  All  nature  on  the 
earth  beneath  and  in  the  skies  above  becomes  organic  and 
whole.  The  arrangement,  the  order,  is  seen.  The  system- 
atic construction  of  the  universe  appears,  and  is  demon- 
strated with  the  certitude  of  the  calculus.  As  to  material 
nature,  unity  has  come,  and  system  is  established  in  all 
her  realms  to  the  uttermost  periphery  of  space. 

How  then  shall  it  be  with  the  historic  phenomena  of  the 
world  ? These  phenomena  until  the  present  age  of  inquiry 
have  remained  in  the  condition  of  the  planets  and  stars  be- 
fore Galileo  and  Copernicus,  before  Newton  and  Kepler. 
The  facts  and  events  of  the  historical  drama,  like  the 


IN  HISTORY. 


283 

worlds  on  high,  were  found  aforetime  and  followed  for 
certain  distances  along  their  tracks  of  dawn-light ; but  the 
tracks  of  dawn-light  began  and  ended  in  darkness.  The 
human  world  was  a world  of  isolations,  of  broken  parts,  of 
disconnections  and  capricious  individualities.  The  idea 
that  the  parts  of  man-life  are  bound  together  by  the  threads 
of  law  and  order  had  not  yet  been  caught  by  the  greatest 
minds  of  the  world.  The  concept  that  a general  motion 
might  be  discovered  among  the  fragments  of  our  past  had 
not  yet  risen  upon  the  tallest  genius  of  mankind.  There 
was  order  in  the  skies,  and  disorder  on  the  earth.  Law 
was  established  above  us  and  lawlessness  around  us.  Our 
human  universe  was  piled  and  heaped  in  every  part  with 
the  activities  and  institutions  of  mankind  ; with  the  relics 
of  ancient  civilizations  ; the  ruins  of  cities  and  states  ; the 
fragments  of  constitutions  and  the  waste  cargoes  of  fleets 
and  navies  ; but  these  appeared  to  the  thought  and  im- 
agination of  the  age  only  as  a chaotic  flotsam  and  jetsam 
of  the  seas,  blown  up  by  lawless  winds  and  thrown  in  dis- 
ordered masses  along  the  shores  of  time. 

It  was  necessary  that  a new  concept  should  at  length  be 
reached  of  man-life  and  its  phenomena  in  the  world.  The 
reign  of  disorder  could  not  last  forever.  The  idea  must  at 
length  suggest  itself  that  as  in  material  nature  so  in  the 
universe  of  life  and  action  cosmos  reigns,  with  law  for  his 
Minister  of  State.  This  concept  came,  and  with  it  the 
first  true  notion  of  the  history  of  the  human  race.  Order 
appeared,  and  the  facts  and  events  of  the  world  began  to 
arrange  themselves  into  a systematic  whole.  The  firma- 
ment of  waters  was  divided,  and  the  dry  land  was  seen. 
The  laws  of  sequence  and  causation  reached  out  silently 
and  sublimely  over  the  facts  and  events  of  our  race-career, 
and  history  arose  like  a beautiful  exhalation  of  the  morn- 
ing. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  stages  of  human  progress  is 


THE  MAN 


284 

that  in  which  the  mind  first  passes  in  historical  inquiry 
from  the  contemplation  of  the  disordered  facts  and  phe- 
nomena of  human  life  to  the  laws  and  correlations  where- 
by they  are  bound  together.  It  is  an  advance  from  the 
materialities  to  the  spiritualities  of  history.  With  the  prog- 
ress of  knowledge  it  was  at  last  perceived  that  the  study 
of  facts*and  events,  however  completely  those  facts  and 
events  may  be  investigated,  is  not  the  study  of  the  real  his- 
tory of  mankind.  That  study  has  advanced  already  from  the 
book  to  the  event,  and  it  now  advances  from  the  event  to 
its  causes  and  relations . History  becomes  philosophy  in  the 
highest  sense  of  that  great  word. 

At  first  the  law  of  universality  among  the  affairs  of  men 
was  not  discovered  ; but  it  began  at  length  to  be  discerned 
in  partial  applications  here  and  there.  At  first  it  was 
noted  that  this  group  of  phenomena  and  then  that  group 
was  bound  in  its  parts  by  the  .principles  of  causation  and 
sequence.  Then  higher  and  more  far-reaching  relations 
were  discovered.  Facts  which  had  hitherto  been  supposed 
to  be  remote  and  dissociated  were  seen  to  have  a neces- 
sary and  binding  tie.  One  event  was  seen  to  follow  the 
other  as  its  result ; the  one  sprang  from  the  other  as  its 
cause.  It  was  perceived  that,  though  continents  of  space 
and  vast  reaches  of  time  intervened,  the  event  yonder  had 
to  the  event  here  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  that 
without  the  one  the  other  had  never  been. 

The  central  principle  of  the  New  History  is  this  law  of 
universal  causation.  The  bottom  concept  of  it  is  that 
everything  is  caused  and  nothing  causeless  ; that  every 
fact  of  our  human  drama,  whether  material  or  immaterial, 
simple  or  complex,  ephemeral  or  eternal,  is  linked  to  some 
antecedent  fact  or  facts  as  its  cause  and  to  ensuing  facts  as 
its  results.  There  is  thus  a concatenation  of  all  events 
soever  on  the  right  lines  of  cause  and  effect,  of  anteced- 
ence and  consequence,  of  originating  force  and  final  re- 


IN  HISTORY.  285 

suit.  A law  of  the  correlation  and  conservation  of  forces 
is  present  and  recognized  in  all  human  affairs  as  well  as 
in  the  facts  and  processes  of  the  material  world. 

This  notion  of  the  regularity  and  order  of  all  human 
affairs  has  firmly  fixed  itself  in  the  mind.  The  vision  has 
widened.  Further  and  further  the  deeds  and  institutions 
of  mankind  have  been  traced  in  their  connections  and  de- 

4f 

pendencies,  and  everywhere  they  have  been  found  to  co- 
here in  a common  system.  The  concept  of  universal 
relation  and  dependence  has  flashed  upon  the  thought.  A 
few  of  the  bolder  thinkers  have  declared  it.  It  has  come 
like  the  Newtonian  laws  for  the  heavens,  like  the  Darwin- 
ian discovery  for  the  natural  history  of  life.  The  new  no- 
tion of  the  human  drama  has  adjusted  itself  with  beautiful 
fitness  to  the  vast  panorama  of  events,  and  the  old  notions 
of  disconnection,  of  disorder,  of  isolations  and  individuali- 
ties, of  caprices  and  interferences  have  passed  away  like 
the  shadows  of  night. 

This  advance  from  the  consideration  of  mere  facts  and 
institutions  and  men — regarded  aforetime  as  the  be-all 
and  the  end-all  of  the  inquiry — is  the  third  estate  of  his- 
tory. It  is  the  stage  of  Order  and  Law.  This  is  the 
New  History  which  has  substituted  the  sequence  of  events 
for  the  events  themselves,  and  the  law  of  causation  for 
the  law  of  chance.  The  New  History  has  planted  herself 
on  the  relations  and  movements  of  the  man-world,  and 
order  and  progress  have  become  the  key-words  of  her 
empire.  She  has  lifted  the  mind  to  a point  of  observation 
from  which  our  race-career  may  be  viewed  as  a whole, 
may  be  seen  moving  forward  by  steady  and  orderly  se- 
quences from  stage  to  stage  in  a determinate  course  from 
the  beginning,  through  the  middle,  to  the  end  of  human 
activities  on  the  earth. 

The  true  history  of  man,  of  society,  of  civilization,  is 
now  seen  to  consist  of  a progress  and  betterment  in  all  re- 


286 


THE  MAN 


spects  analogous  to  the  evolutionary  processes  of  material 
nature.  The  one  movement  is  as  perfect,  as  ample,  as 
absolute  as  the  other.  The  one  as  little  as  the  other  ad- 
mits of  exceptions,  contingencies,  and  variations  of  the 
common  law.  The  life  of  man  is  as  whole  as  the  life 
of  nature.  The  life  of  the  race  is  as  complete  as  the  life 
of  the  universe.  The  events  in  which  man  has  been  the 
actor  and  the  institutions  which  he  has  created  have  their 
sequences  and  developments  in  an  order  as  definite  as  that 
which  determines  the  crystallization  of  minerals,  the  suc- 
cession of  the  seasons,  the  cycles  of  the  forest.  The  his- 
tory of  mankind  is,  in  a word,  one  complete  and  ample 
web  with  not  a single  outhanging  thread  or  broken  nap 
or  raveled  selvage  in  its  whole  time-woven  fabric.  We 
might  as  well  attempt  to  find  in  the  material  universe 
some  particle  of  matter  over  which  gravitation’s  law  does 
not  extend,  binding  it  to  all  the  rest  with  a force  propor- 
tional to  its  mass,  as  to  seek  to  find  in  all  the  vast  ex- 
panses of  history  one  human  atom  which  is  not  bound  in 
organic  and  vital  union  with  the  whole,  correlated  with 
all  the  rest,  and  essential  to  the  equipoise  for  time  and 
eternity ! 

This  absoluteness,  entirety,  and  evolutionary  progress 
of  all  the  parts  of  the  man-drama  in  the  world  is  the  be- 
ginning and  the  end  of  history.  The  gaining  of  an  ad- 
equate notion  of  this  sublime  truth  is  the  alpha  and  omega 
of  historical  inquiry.  The  race  becomes  one.  Its  deeds 
and  aspects  are  the  parts  of  a single  evolution.  Its  events 
and  its  institutions  are  only  the  phenomenal  expressions 
of  a common  and  universal  life.  Its  seeming  ascents  and 
descents,  its  irregularities  and  twistings,  its  deflections  to 
right  and  left,  are  but  the  visible  stages,  the  optical  illu- 
sions, of  one  unvarying  forward  march  from  the  barbaric 
forms  of  our  primeval  estate  to  the  sun-blazoned  and 
glorious  activities  of  an  enduring  and  perfect  civilization. 


IN  HISTORY. 


287 

The  discovery  of  the  oneness  and  universality  of  human 
history  has  come  late  ; but  having  come,  it  prevails.  It 
is  like  the  newly  discovered  laws  of  the  material  world. 
We  have  seen  how  those  laws  were  extended  by  inquiry 
from  isolated  facts,  from  individual  instances,  from  small 
groups  of  phenomena,  to  larger  and  still  larger  assem- 
blages of  facts,  until  the  whole  of  material  nature  has 
passed  under  the  dominion  of  law  and  has  become  a unit. 
In  the  same  way  the  integrity  of  history,  its  oneness  and 
continuity,  its  completeness  and  absoluteness  have  been 
established.  The  analogy  of  the  inquiry  by  which  the 
unity  of  material  nature  has  been  demonstrated  with  that 
which  has  confirmed  the  unity  of  man  is  final  and  complete. 

Every  branch  of  physical  science  has  proceeded  along 
the  same  lines  which  have  now  determined  the  principles 
of  the  New  History.  Our  belief  in  the  essential  unity  of 
the  human  race  and  of  all  its  historical  developments  has 
been  fixed  by  the  same  reasoning  which  has  brought  us 
to  a knowledge  of  nature.  Geology  is  not  so  much  an 
account  of  the  discovered  and  discoverable  facts  of  the 
vast  rocky  beds  beneath  our  feet  as  it  is  an  exposition  of 
the  laws  by  which,  with  chaos  and  upheavals,  our  ancient 
globe  of  turbulence  and  fire  has  been  transformed  into 
order  and  beauty  and  made  the  abode  of  life.  Biology  is 
no  longer  a mass  of  descriptive  delineations  of  the  plants 
and  animals  inhabiting  the  earth,  or  even  of  their  environ- 
ment and  manner  of  existence.  Rather  is  it  the  tracing 
of  the  lines  of  development  from  the  ever-lower  to  the 
ever-higher  orders  of  life ; the  discovery  of  vital  se- 
quences and  successions;  the  finding  of  connections  and 
dependencies  among  the  different  orders  of  living  beings  ; 
the  demonstration  of  the  means  by  which  the  varieties  of 
life  have  been  deduced  from  the  common  original  of  all. 
Astronomy  is  not  the  study  of  planets  and  stars,  but  the 
investigation  of  the  laws  and  motions  which  make  the 


238 


THE  MAN 


sidereal  heavens  a universe  of  order.  They  who  are 
skilled  in  star-craft  are  no  longer  concerned  with  mere 
descriptions  of  isolated  worlds  and  suns,  or  even  with  the 
systems  into  which  they  are  gathered,  but  rather  have 
they  bent  their  energies  to  the  discovery  of  those  vaster 
laws  which  determine  the  birth  and  death  of  worlds.  It 
is  the  processes  and  general  progress  of  the  starry  spheres, 
the  tendencies  which  the  universe  discovers  of  its  own 
origin  and  destiny,  that  now  absorb  the  interest  of  those 
great  thinkers  who  from  the  mountain-tops  of  four  conti- 
nents are  peering  into  the  depths  of  space. 

So  also  of  human  history.  It  is  not  the  book-written 
account  of  the  man-drama  of  the  world — not  merely  the 
facts  and  events,  the  phenomenal  aspects,  the  isolated 
situations  and  developments  of  the  human  race — but  it  is 
the  forward  march  of  man.  It  is  the  movement  of  man- 
kind from  stage  to  stage.  It  is  the  causes,  the  relations, 
the  dependencies,  of  all  institutions  and  of  all  events.  It 
is  the  cosmic  arrangement  of  all  things  human  into  One 
Thing,  and  the  integrity  of  that  one  thing  in  all  its  parts. 
It  is  the  law  of  progress  and  amelioration,  extending 
through  all  the  deeds  and  all  the  works  of  man.  It  is  the 
immaterial,  the  spiritual,  thread  which  runs  through  and 
binds  together  in  a complete  and  orderly  evolution,  not 
only  the  activities,  the  works,  and  purposes  of  mankind, 
but  the  human  race  itself  from  its  undiscovered  origin  to 
its  ultimate  destiny. 

It  was  of  vast  importance  that  this  New  History  should 
come  into  the  world  and  possess  its  thought  and  substance. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  old  history  with  its  doubts  and 
dogmas,  its  phantasms  and  chimeras  should  pass  away. 
The  concept  of  the  extension  of  the  reign  of  law  over  the 
affairs  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  world  must  come  and 
prevail,  in  order  that  progress  should  be  confirmed  and 
civilization  become  rational  and  enduring.  This  trans- 


IN  HISTORY . 


289 

formation  of  the  substance  and  the  notion  of  history  is  of 
immeasurable  value  to  mankind.  It  is  analogous  to  that 
great  and  salutary  change  which  has  passed  over  the  hu- 
man landscape  from  the  recognition  of  law  as  the  con- 
trolling principle  of  physical  nature. 

Of  a certainty  law  has  always  reigned.  We  shall  not 
suppose  that  the  discovery  of  order  and  regularity  among 
the  parts  of  the  material  universe  has  altered  the  facts  and 
principles  of  that  universe,  or  changed  either  its  course  or 
constitution.  The  material  and  visible  state  which  we  in- 
habit was  orderly  and  beautiful  from  the  first ; but  the 
mind  did  not  perceive  it.  All  chaos  is  really  in  the  mind, 
and  not  in  nature.  Nature  has  never  been  chaotic.  Those 
epochs  of  world-history  which  have  seemed  to  be  lawless 
and  devoid  of  order  were  so  only  to  the  extent  of  the 
weakness  and  blindness  of  that  reason  with  which  they 
were  considered.  The  higher  and  stronger  reason  is  able 
to  discover  that  chaos  itself  is  only  the  inverted  side  of 
order — only  a part  of  the  infinite  cosmos  which  is  over  all. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  order  of  nature  has  not  been 
changed  or  improved  or  deflected  by  a hair’s  breadth  from 
the  lines  of  its  predetermined  course  and  unfolding ; while 
the  absoluteness  and  regularity  of  the  material  world  have 
not  been  amended  by  any  agency  of  man  or  by  any  change 
and  improvement  in  his  own  views  respecting  his  environ- 
ment,— the  recognition  of  order  and  regularity  has  brought 
to  him  the  vastest  benefit,  being  no  less  than  the  institu- 
tion of  the  civilized  and  orderly  life  in  the  place  of  the  life 
of  barbarism.  Until  the  perception  of  order  and  law  in 
nature,  man  was  necessarily  barbaric.  Here  lay  the  weak- 
ness of  the  ancient  world  ; it  knew  not  order.  The  ele- 
ment of  discord  was  in  it — not  indeed  in  nature  herself,  but 
in  the  mind. 

Consider  for  a moment  the  poor  and  inadequate  notions 
of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  ages  re- 


THE  MAN  ' 


290 

specting  the  laws  and  phenomena  of  nature.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  Old  World  enlightenment  strove  to  lighten. 
It  could  not  illumine  save  in  the  narrow  circle  of  the  torch. 
A flat  world  and  a concave  sky  could  not  contain  a civil- 
ization fit  to  civilize.  A ball  of  fire  drawn  in  Phoebus’s 
chariot  across  the  sky  could  not  dispel  the  darkness  or 
fructify  the  world.  Olympus  sufficed  for  poetry,  but  not 
for  the  creation  of  a universe.  The  boundaries  of  nature 
were  contracted  around  the  mind  ; the  sky  was  a roof,  the 
earth  was  a floor,  and  the  seas  a rim  of  night  and  terror. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  estimate  the  reactionary  effects 
which  the  substitution  of  science  for  superstition  has 
brought  to  the  human  spirit.  The  false  and  meager  con- 
cepts which  it  held  aforetime  respecting  the  world  and 
universal  nature  are  dissipated.  The  earth  at  length 
swings  free  in  space.  The  mythological  monsters  that 
held  it  up  and  bore  it  on  have  melted  away  like  the  fog- 
specters  of  the  Brocken.  The  roof  has  been  broken  from 
the  skies,  and  the  infinite  depths  revealed.  The  atomic 
secrets  of  nature  are  opened  to  the  understanding ; the 
laws  of  life  begin  to  be  discovered,  and  at  last,  with  the 
coming  of  Newton  and  Darwin,  there  is  day. 

It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  by 
which  matter  is  governed,  nature  directed  in  her  course, 
and  the  equipoise  of  all  material  things  maintained,  has 
been  of  incalculable  importance  to  mankind.  The  incom- 
ing of  such  knowledge  has  opened  great  vistas  and  illu- 
mined far-off  landscapes.  It  has  put  back  the  torn  horizon 
of  cloud  and  superstition  till  it  now  rests  but  dimly  on  the 
illimitable  seas  of  thought.  It  has  made  possible  the  be- 
lief in  the  steadfastness  and  orderly  movement  of  all  things 
in  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  It  has  furnished  a resting- 
place  and  vantage-ground  from  which  the  spirit  may  look 
forth  into  a realm  of  universal  order,  promise,  and  hope. 
The  result  has  been  the  birth  of  confidence,  the  unspring- 


IN  HISTORY. 


291 

ing  of  truth  in  the  human  soul.  Man  walks  no  longer 
among  the  pitfalls  of  interference,  caprice,  disorder,  and 
darkness,  but  proudly  and  firmly  along  the  sun-lighted 
pathways  of  law  and  regularity. 

All  this  is  said  of  the  rise  of  the  physical  sciences  and 
the  consequent  improvement  in  the  intellectual  and  moral 
state  of  man.  If  the  discovery  of  the  laws  of  universal 
causation  and  of  the  reign  of  order  in  the  natural  world 
has  had  so  great  an  effect  upon  the  mind  and  has  planted 
therein  the  foundations  of  a new  civilization,  what  shall 
we  say  of  the  acceptance  of  law  and  order  as  the  vital 
principle  in  the  affairs  of  men  ? Man-life,  as  well  as  world- 
life,  has  become  orderly,  evolutionary,  and  progressive. 
It  has  ceased  to  be  a life  of  chance  and  confusion,  of  tem- 
porary liftings  and  recessions  into  barbarism,  of  patches  of 
light  and  continents  of  darkness.  What  must  be  the  tre- 
mendous results  of  this  new  concept  of  the  history  of  man- 
kind? 

Certainly  our  world-drama  was  always  under  the  reign 
of  law.  From  the  first  day  it  was  as  orderly  as  now.  It 
is  only  our  altered  station  and  view  that  have  brought  the 
change.  The  change  from  chaos  to  order  is  not  in  his- 
tory, or  our  stars,  but  in  ourselves.  The  life,  the  devel- 
opment, the  activity,  the  deeds,  and  institutions  of  mankind 
were  never  other  than  regular  and  progressive ; never 
infected  with  caprices ; never  blown  into  eddies  and  sand- 
dunes  by  whimsical  winds  along  our  time-worn  shores.  It 
is  only  our  view  of  the  sublime  phenomena  that  has  been 
blurred  ; only  our  thought  about  our  race  and  its  move- 
ment that  has  been  darkened  with  doubts  and  distressed 
with  fears. 

No  branch  of  merely  physical  science  has  been  so  im- 
portant to  the  welfare  of  mankind  as  has  the  Science  of 
History.  None  other  has  brought  so  great  and  salutary 
changes  affecting  the  conditions  of  life  and  the  progress  of 


THE  MAN 


292 

society.  We  have  had  indeed  a vast  development  of  the 
sciences  called  natural.  These  include  the  new  geol- 
ogy, the  new  astronomy,  and  the  new  biological  exposi- 
tion of  the  laws  and  natural  history  of  life.  All  of  these 
branches  of  inquiry  have  done  much  to  alter  and  improve 
the  prospects  of  the  human  race.  By  them  the  conditions 
of  happiness  and  greatness  have  been  brought  near,  even 
to  the  door.  But  the  physical  sciences — all  of  them  to- 
gether— are  not  equal  to  the  noiseless,  though  well-nigh 
omnipotent,  force  of  that  historical  science  which  has  now 
asserted  itself  as  the  one  supreme  branch  of  human  knowl- 
edge. It  can  not  be  doubted  that  an  acquaintance  with 
the  laws  and  processes  of  human  development, — the  stages 
of  evolution  through  which  our  race  has  passed,  the  prin- 
ciples of  causation  and  sequence  running  through  all  the 
works,  purposes,  and  institutions  of  mankind,  the  percep- 
tion of  the  oneness,  integrity,  and  completeness  of  the 
world-drama  in  which  we  are  the  actors  and  participants, 
— rises  above  and  embraces  all  other  kinds  of  knowledge 
as  the  sky  embraces  the  clouds. 

The  discovery  of  order  and  unity  in  the  affairs  of  man- 
kind outruns  the  discovery  of  America  and  the  discovery 
of  Neptune.  The  belief  in  the  wholeness  and  uniformity 
of  all  nature  is  not  so  important  as  the  belief  in  the  whole- 
ness and  uniformity  of  man.  The  concept  of  the  unvary- 
ing, undeviating,  and  inevitable  progress  of  the  human 
race,  of  the  absoluteness  and  indivisibilitv  of  its  work  and 
destiny  in  the  world,  overtops,  if  I mistake  not,  every 
other  concept  of  which  the  mind  with  its  present  powers  is 
capable.  That  view  of  >he  life  of  man,  of  human  society, 
of  peoples  and  nations,  of  the  deeds  which  they  have  done 
and  the  institutions  which  they  have  created  on  the  earth, 
of  the  wars  which  they  have  fought,  the  treaties  they 
have  devised,  the  unions  they  have  formed,  the  empires 
and  republics  they  have  founded,  the  conquests  they 


IN  HISTORY. 


293 


have  made — at  least  in  part — over  nature,  and  the  subordi- 
nation of  nature’s  forces  to  the  superior  energies  of  the 
will, — this  view  of  human  life  is  the  one  view  which  gives 
coherence  and  sublimity  to  our  man-world,  and  makes  the 
Planet  of  History  the  greatest  of  the  stars. 

History  in  its  newest  and  best  sense  is  the  foundation  of 
the  civilization  that  now  is  and  that  is  to  be.  Inanimate 
nature  is  dominated  by  life.  Life  is  dominated  by  in- 
telligence and  reason.  Reason  has  its  crowning  expres- 
sion in  the  mind  and  purposes  of  man.  Knowledge  rises 
through  analogous  gradations  from  material  nature  to  hu- 
man life.  Science  applies  herself  first  to  the  lowest  and 
afterwards  to  the  higher  and  highest  facts  of  the  world. 
She  first  busies  herself  with  air  and  fire,  with  the  waters 
and  the  rocks.  Afterwards  she  turns  to  creeping  vines 
and  flowers,  to  lichens  and  forests  of  pine.  Then  she 
rises  to  the  consideration  of  animate  existence.  At  length 
she  reaches  man,  and  makes  him  the  subject  of  her  study. 
She  views  him  as  an  individual.  She  analvses  his  sub- 
stance,  his  parts,  and  his  powers.  Then  she  weighs  him 
as  a member  of  a community,  the  personal  fragment  of  a 
people,  the  atom  of  a race.  At  last  she  views  him  as  a 
part,  an  infinitesimal  part,  of  mankind,  held  by  universal 
law  to  his  little  place  and  functions  in  a world  of  activity 
and  reason. 

Thus  far  the  evolution  of  knowledge  is  strictly  scientific. 
Passing  on,  however,  to  grander  ranges  of  subject-matter 
and  becoming  historical  in  spirit  and  theme,  science  takes 
up  the  tribe,  the  clan,  the  familv  of  migrating  barbarians, 
the  settling  peoples,  the  growing  nations,  the  outbranching 
and  progressive  races  of  men,  and  last  of  all  the  events, 
the  institutions,  the  intellectual  and  moral  progress,  the 
hopes  and  aspirations  of  mankind.  Upon  all  this  the  New 
History  lays  her  hand.  It  is  the  last  and  sublimes*,  stage 
in  the  evolution  of  knowledge.  History,  the  first  to  be 


THE  MAN 


294 

sought  by  man,  is  the  last  to  be  revealed  ; first  to  babble, 
she  is  last  to  speak.  Prating  aforetime  of  gods  and  heroes, 
she  now  reasons  of  growth  and  law,  of  the  development 
and  unity  of  man.  She  views  the  human  race  as  a single 
organic  life  under  its  own  laws  of  evolution,  growing,  in- 
creasing in  volume  and  capacity,  and  reaching  out  to  all 
continents,  subduing  and  occupying  all,  reducing  nature 
to  obedience  and  service,  mastering  the  world,  and  finally 
turning  to  the  consideration  of  itself  as  the  highest  entity 
and  noblest  expression  of  force  within  the  domains  of  na- 
ture. 

History  is  thus  the  summation  of  the  wisdom  of  man- 
kind. It  is  the  knowledge  and  consciousness  of  the  hu- 
man race  respecting  itself,  refined  and  sublimated  to  the 
last  degree.  It  is  the  continent  of  all  things  else  which  we 
possess  of  intellectual  treasure  and  civilizing  force.  It  is 
that  to  which  all  other  forms  and  elements  of  intellectual 
and  spiritual  aspiration  go  forth  and  into  which  they  flow. 
History  is  that  universal  air  in  which  all  forms  of  light  and 
beauty,  smitten  with  sun  and  dew,  flourish  with  blossoming 
and  fruit.  It  is  the  river  which  draws  into  its  channel  all 
the  fountains  of  humanity,  all  the  water-brooks  of  thought. 
It  is  the  ocean  whereto  the  living  currents  of  the  world 
slowly  and  grandly  make  their  way  and  with  which  they 
are  at  last  resolved.  From  that  ocean  at  the  first  they 
arose  in  invisible  mist,  and  in  it  at  the  last  they  find  their 
final  rest. 

In  this  world-drama  where,  then,  stands  the  Man?  Is 
he  lost  in  the  tremendous  system  that  involves  him,  or  does 
he  still  shine  star-like  in  the  spaces?  Has  the  actor  dis- 
appeared in  the  splendors  of  the  play?  Is  he  tossed  like 
small  dust  with  the  machinery  of  a self-moving  and  ever- 
shifting  stage?  Without  doubt,  history  is  man’s  affair; 
and  he  is  the  principal  affair  of  history.  It  is  his  because 
he  is  a part  of  it ; because  it  is  the  great  act  in  which  the 


IN  HISTORY. 


2 95 


destinies  of  himself  and  his  kind  are  somehow  endlessly 
enfolded.  There  is  a history  of  matter,  of  that  inorgarfic 
bottom  which  nature  has  laid  under  the  feet  of  all.  There 
is  also  a history  of  animated  nature,  of  those  irrational 
forms  of  life  which  inhabit  the  lands  and  waters  of  our 
globe.  But  in  the  better  sense,  history  belongs  only  to 
man,  and  he  to  history.  Whether  he  makes  it  or  does  not 
make  it,  thus  much  may  be  truly  said,  that  he  only  is  ca- 
pable of  knowing  it  and  acting  in  it. 

We  have  seen  what  the  thing  called  history  really  is  ; 
that  it  is  not  a mere  transcript  of  human  affairs,  not  an 
isolated  event,  not  a mass  of  material  debris  and  strug- 
gling lives  of  men  ; but  that  it  is  all  events  and  all  human 
destinies  bound  together  as  the  related  parts  of  a common 
movement  under  the  dominion  of  universal  law.  We  have 
seen  that  it  is  the  relations  and  correlations,  the  depen- 
dencies and  sequences,  the  principles  and  laws  of  the 
facts  and  events  of  man-life  which  constitute  the  essence 
of  history  in  its  truest  and  noblest  form.  Where,  then,  in 
this  great  plexus  of  causation,  this  vast  fabric  of  forces  and 
changing  developments,  stands  the  man? 

The  inquiry  is  propounded,  not  of  mankind  as  a whole, 
but  of  the  individual.  As  to  the  human  race,  that  may 
almost  be  identified  with  the  thing  called  history.  The 
one  is  commensurate  with  the  other,  and  each  is  unthinkable 
without  the  other.  Mankind  in  this  larger  sense  is  in  its 
processes  and  evolutions  history  made  visible.  The  one  is 
the  corporeal  expression  and  visible  form  of  the  other.  But 
there  is  still  a difference  between  the  human  race  and  the 
history  in  which  its  life  is  expressed.  There  is  a differ- 
ence between  the  movement  of  affairs  and  the  affairs  them- 
selves. There  is  a difference  between  the  affairs  and  the 
actors.  There  is  also  a wide  difference  between  events  as 
they  appear  to  the  senses  and  judgments  of  men  and  the 
principles  which  control  and  determine  them.  Finally, 


THE  MAN 


29  6 

there  is  a difference  between  principles  and  laws  and  those 
nrovements  and  processes  of  human  society  to  which  the 
principles  and  laws  apply.  It  can  not  be  said  that  facts 
and  events  are  men,  or  that  men  are  events,  or  that  the  se- 
quence of  events  is  strictly  a part  of  the  activity  and  pur- 
pose of  the  human  race.  But  we  are  here  in  deep  waters, 
and  are  dealing  with  high  abstractions  in  the  manner  of 
pure  philosophy — a thing  we  would  fain  avoid.  What  we 
hope  to  elucidate  is  the  place  and  the  part  of  the  man  as  an 
individual  in  the  great  aggregate  of  forces  which  surround 
him  and  bear  him  onward. 

We  may  note,  first  of  all,  that  a marked  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  relations  of  man  to  history  as  he  has  advanced 
from  his  place  in  primitive  society  to  his  place  in  the  great 
society  of  the  present  time.  If  there  were  but  one  man  in 
the  world,  his  conduct  would  constitute  the  history  of  his 
epoch.  We  are  wont  to  say  that  the  conduct  of  man  is 
determined  by  himself.  Fie  might,  therefore,  under  the 
supposed  conditions  be  regarded  as  the  maker  of  history. 
As  the  head  of  a family  or  tribe  his  influence  would  still 
be  great,  and  the  event  would  seem  to  issue  from  him  ; 
but  even  in  the  simpler  relations  of  primeval  life  his  force 
and  predominance  would  already  begin  to  abate.  Even 
when  he  stands  alone  the  forces  of  nature  would  largely 
determine  his  activities  and  limit  the  event.  Flunger 
would  be  his  teacher,  rain  and  sun  his  law-makers,  the 
wind  his  secretary,  and  cold  his  magistrate.  So  that  even 
wrhen  alone  man  can  not  strictly  be  said  to  be  the  maker 
of  the  history  of  his  time. 

With  the  coming  of  the  larger  forms  of  ancient  society, 
man  as  man  began  to  recede  from  sight.  There  were 
still  great  leaders  in  battle  and  song ; but  the  race  multi- 
plied and  man  declined  ; that  is,  he  became  less  potent  as 
a causative  force  in  the  world.  The  event  became  pro- 
chgious,  and  the  man  small.  As  the  race  gathered  vol- 


IN  HISTORY. 


297 


ume  it  seemed  to  take  a force  and  direction  of  its  own, 
and  to  go  forward  on  lines  of  development  which  were 
clearly  not  determined  by  any  of  its  members.  The 
events  of  the  drama  ceased  to  answer  to  the  conscious 
plans  and  purposes  of  the  actors,  and  began  to  respond 
more  and  more  to  general  antecedence  and  causation. 
Such  has  been  the  uniform  tendency  of  human  affairs 
from  the  beginning  until  now. 

Two  general  views  have  prevailed  respecting  the  rela- 
tions of  man  to  history.  One  class  of  thinkers,  in  the 
face  of  the  fact  that  the  relative  force  of  the  individual  has 
become  less  and  less  at  each  stage  of  the  stately  progress 
of  the  race,  have  insisted  on  regarding  the  man  as  the 
fountain-head  of  all  historical  events.  Others,  beginning 
with  the  same  phenomena,  namely,  the  manifest  expan- 
sion and  development  of  history  as  an  organic  and  all- 
pervading  fact  and  the  comparative  obscuration  of  the 
individual  in  the  general  volume  of  forces,  have  insisted 
that  the  man  is  naught ; that  he  himself  instead  of  being 
the  causative  agent  is  but  the  conscious  product  of  en- 
ergies and  combinations  of  force  that  are  over  and  above 
him,  before  him  and  after  him,  and  wholly  independent 
of  his  will. 

Thus  have  arisen  the  two  opposing  interpretations  of 
the  place  of  man  in  history.  The  one,  in  its  extreme  and 
absolute  declaration,  is  the  doctrine  of  free-will  and  spon- 
taneity applied  to  human  affairs,  and  the  other  is  the 
dogma  of  fatalism.  The  one  would  make  man  the  cause 
of  everything,  while  the  other  would  make  him  the  cause  of 
nothing.  The  first  would  regard  all  history  as  flowing 
from  the  cogitations,  purposes,  and  consciousness  of  the 
individual  mind,  and  the  other  would  regard  not  only  the 
plans,  desires,  and  will  of  the  individual  as  proceeding 
from  general  causation,  but  the  man  himself,  with  all  of 
his  sentiments,  beliefs,  aspirations,  and  hopes  as  only  the 


THE  MAN 


298 

necessary  product  of  an  antecedence  which  brings  him 
into  the  world  and  shapes  his  destiny. 

I am  aware  that  at  first  view  it  appears  paradoxical  and 
impossible  that  history  should  proceed  from  any  source, 
but  from  the  man  himself.  Prima  facie,  it  seems  self- 
evident  that  he  is  the  maker  of  the  whole.  Whoever 
merely  glances  at  the  problem  must  regard  it  as  demon- 
strable that  all  affairs,  all  events,  all  movements  and  phe- 
nomena of  the  world-drama  are  but  the  products  and  re- 
sults of  the  energies,  intelligence,  and  purposes  of  men. 
Who  but  they,  the  inquirer  may  well  demand,  could  be 
the  origin  of  human  events,  the  cause  of  whatever  is? 
It  seems  so  plain  to  the  eye  of  sense  that  man  does  plan 
and  purpose,  that  he  does  make  and  determine,  that  the 
fact  does  fall  from  his  hand  as  the  sword  or  the  plow- 
share falls  from  the  blacksmith’s  anvil, — that  to  doubt  his 
agency,  his  origination,  his  creation  of  the  event  seems 
absurdly  to  question  the  evidence  of  all  the  senses  and 
perceptions  of  the  mind.  How,  therefore,  can  history  be 
other  than  the  work  of  the  individual  in  collaboration  of 
plan  and  purpose  with  other  individuals  like  himself? 

Opposed  to  this  view,  however,  is  the  other  to  which  we 
have  referred.  This  changes  completely  the  point  of  ob- 
servation and  makes  man  himself  to  be  but  the  result  of 
historical  antecedence — the  product  of  his  age.  That  he 
is  so  seems  to  be  established  by  many  indubitable  facts. 
The  proposition  that  man  is  born  and  lives  by  the  compul- 
sion of  his  age  becomes  with  little  study  a truth  as  palpa- 
ble as  any.  Look  at  the  individual  at  any  time  and  in  any 
country.  Glance  at  his  place  in  antiquity,  in  the  mediasval 
ages,  at  the  present  day.  Select  the  man  from  any  situa- 
tion whatsoever,  and  see  whether  he  has  to  any  extent 
determined  even  himself,  to  say  nothing  of  the  events  of 
his  epoch.  Did  he  before  his  coming  mark  the  time  of 
his  birth?  Did  he  determine  and  choose  his  country? 


IN  HISTORY.  299 

Did  he  reckon  the  conditions  of  climate  and  scene  into 
which  he  should  be  thrown,  and  the  consequent  limitations 
of  his  powers?  Did  he  fix  his  birthplace  in  river  valley? 
on  mountain  slope?  in  populous  city?  on  solitary  steppe? 
in  moaning  forest?  by  the  pebbly  beach  of  the  infinite  sea? 
Did  he  choose  his  race  and  blood?  Did  he  select  his  own 
paternity? — his  father?  his  mother?  the  physical  and  moral 
union  of  their  lives  in  him?  Did  he  make  himself  a Hin- 
du? a Persian?  a Greek?  a fire-worshiper?  a pagan?  a 
Christian?  Did  he  prepare  beforehand  to  be  a soldier?  a 
poet?  a priest?  Could  he  fix  himself  by  preference  and 
will  in  Babylon?  in  Rome?  in  Peking?  in  London?  Could 
he  by  prearrangement  adjust  the  historical  conditions  into 
which  he  would  be  born,  and  of  which  he  must  avail 
himself  or  perish?  Could  he  make  for  himself  a scene  of 
action  among  the  Athenian  democracy?  the  Roman  patri- 
cians? the  Gallic  warriors?  Would  he  be  a Hun  or  a 
missionary?  a Crusader  or  an  Infidel?  a prince  or  a boor? 
a fool  or  a philosopher?  man  or  woman?  slave  or  general? 
black,  brown,  or  white?  strong  or  weak?  blind  or  seeing? 
dwarf  or  herculean?  capable  or  incapable  of  action  and 
accomplishment?  Has  any  man  in  any  age  or  country  to 
any  degree  whatever  influenced,  not  to  say  determined, 
the  antecedent  conditions  of  his  own  life  and  activities? 
If  he  have  not  done  so,  then  how  can  he  be  said  to  be  the 
maker  of  history?  To  make  history  he  must  first  at  least 
devise  himself;  and  if  he  can  not  do  that,  how  can  he  do 
the  infinitely  greater  thing? 

All  questions  implying  the  power  of  man  to  fix  his  own 
place  and  manner  in  the  world  must  be  met  with  a general 
negation.  It  must  be  agreed  that  man  does  not  determine 
his  place  in  history ; that  he  does  not  choose  his  country, 
his  age  or  his  race ; that  he  does  not  make  the  elements 
of  his  own  life  and  activity  ; that  he  does  not  originate  or 
greatly  influence  the  laws  and  conditions  of  his  environ- 


300 


THE  MAN 


ment.  Nevertheless,  he  who  holds  the  opposite  view  re- 
turns unvanquished  to  the  battle  and  appeals  vehemently 
to  the  truisms  of  his  contention.  He  cites  the  manifest 
originating  power  and  controlling  hand  of  man  over  the 
incidents  and  events  of  history.  He  goes  forward  from 
material  facts  and  conditions  to  abstract  and  moral  con- 
siderations, charging  the  adverse  opinion  with  absurd  pre- 
destinarianism,  with  materialism,  with  every  species  of 
fatalistic  philosophism  invented  by  a blind  and  absolute 
science.  Your  history,  says  he,  dethrones  man  and  makes 
him  of  no  reputation.  It  reduces  him  from  an  agent  to  a 
thing.  It  takes  all  will  and  purpose  out  of  history  and 
makes  it  to  be  but  the  aggregate  result  of  physical  forces, 
leaving  it  on  the  plane  of  a mere  natural  philosophy. 
Such  a view  is  against  the  evidence  of  the  perceptions  of 
the  mind  and  the  common  testimony  of  the  human  race. 

What — continues  the  debater — is  the  witness  of  all  ob- 
servation and  recorded  annals? — what  but  that  men  them- 
selves, individuals,  persons  either  singular  or  many,  have 
originated,  caused,  produced  the  facts  and  events  of  the 
historical  drama?  Who  but  man  has  reclaimed  and  peo- 
pled and  civilized  the  domains  of  the  world?  Did  any  city 
ever  found  itself?  Did  ever  a state  begin  of  its  own  ac- 
cord? Did  ever  any  institution  or  event  rise  anywhere  but 
by  the  uplifting  hands  of  men?  Did  not  Cecrops  found 
Athens,  and  the  Twin  Robbers  draw  the  ramparts  around 
primitive  Rome  ? Did  not  the  legionaries  of  Claudius  on  the 
Thames  bank  build  a fort  to  command  the  river  and  make 
the  first  huts  in  the  metropolis  of  the  world?  Did  not 
Moses  and  Solon  and  Numa  Pompilius  make  laws  for  the 
Jew,  the  Greek,  the  Roman?  Did  not  the  son  of  Philip 
conquer  Asia?  and  did  not  Hannibal  shake  his  fist  at 
Rome?  Was  Charlemagne  nothing  but  a name?  Were 
Luther  and  Cromwell  only  the  open  and  unconscious 
mouths  of  religious  and  democratic  insurrections?  Was 


IN  HISTORY. 


301 


Richelieu  only  a puppet,  wired  and  pulled  by  fate?  Was 
Napoleon  only  a barren  ideality?  Did  not  Omar  the 
Great  take  Jerusalem,  and  Godfrey  recover  it?  Do  not 
men  rear  palaces  and  temples  and  adorn  them  with  im- 
mortal arts?  Did  not  Michael  Angelo  fling  up  a vision  or 
angels  and  cherubim  to  the  ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel? 
and  did  not  the  Man  of  Genoa — even  against  the  conspiracy 
of  the  age,  the  contempt  of  king^and  sages,  and  the  anger 
of  the  sea — bring  his  triumphant  Santa  Maria  from  the 
far-off,  bright  Azores  to 

— “Bahama,  and  the  dashing 
Silver-flashing 
Surges  of  San  Salvador”  ? 

Did  blind  fate  or  the  living  man  discover  the  New 
World? 

Thus  triumphantly  cries  out  the  advocate  of  man-agency 
and  man-purpose  as  the  originating  forces  of  history.  But 
the  antagonist  is  not  silenced.  The  believer  in  the  pre- 
dominance of  the  laws  of  universal  causation  merely  smiles 
at  the  declamation  of  his  adversary,  and  goes  on.  He 
takes  up  the  unexhausted  debate,  and  drives  home  thrust 
on  thrust.  Your  argument,  says  he,  is  mere  phantasm 
and  stoneblindness.  Men  produce  nothing  — nothing! 
They  control  nothing — nothing ! They  contribute  not  a 
single  feather-weight  to  the  world.  They  give  no  atom  to 
the  aggregate  of  things  material  or  things  eternal.  On 
the  contrary,  they  are  themselves  like  bubbles  thrown  up 
with  the  heavings  of  an  infinite  sea.  There  on  the  sur- 
face they  flash  for  a moment,  and  are  gone  forever.  Men 
do  not,  as  you  say,  create  the  elements  or  direct  the  course 
of  history.  The  builders  of  that  sublime  fabric  are  invisi- 
ble to  mortal  sight.  They  live  forever,  and  have  power 
over  all  the  phenomena  of  man-life,  shaping  and  con- 
structing all.  The  man  lives  for  a day  and  constructs 
nothing.  Cecrops  did  not,  as  you  say,  found  Athens. 


302 


THE  MAN 


Minerva  had  been  there  before  him  and  had  planted  the 
olive-tree  on  the  Acropolis.  She  had  contended  with  Nep- 
tune and  driven  him  away ! Cecrops  did  not  make  the 
site,  but  only  discovered  it.  He  did  not  discover  it,  for  he 
was  sent  thither  by  history  to  find  it ! Greece  had  already 
been  prepared  in  an  alembic  older  than  the  Hellenic  race. 
There  was  the  broken  shore.  There  were  the  hills  and 
the  mountains.  There  were  the  oak  woods  and  Olympus  ; 
the  grottoes  and  the  whispering  groves  of  myrtle  ; the 
cerulean  sky  and  the  hexametric  pulse  of  the  soft  seas 
falling  on  the  shore.  There  had  been  prepared  the  ante- 
cedent conditions,  not  only  for  Athens  and  Sparta,  but  for 
Cecrops  and  Theseus  as  well ; for  Agamemnon  and  Ho- 
mer ; for  Lycurgus  and  Solon  ; for  the  Delphic  shrine  and 
the  Parthenon  ; for  the  Olympic  games  and  Salamis. 

Into  this  region — as  into  all  regions — history  sent  her 
law-makers  and  her  poets.  She  dispatched  thither  her 
warriors  and  her  orators,  her  philosophy  and  her  arts. 
She  it  was  who  heaped  up  the  tumulus  of  Marathon,  and 
still  sends  there  her  spectral  Greeks  to  fight  in  the  clouds 
by  night.  She  it  was  who  urged  Hannibal  with  his  ele- 
phants across  the  Alps,  and  who  held  back  Caesar  for  a 
moment  on  the  banks  of  the  dividing  river.  She  it  was 
who  whirled  the  battle-ax  of  the  Lion  Heart  on  the  hills 
above  Jerusalem,  and  who  put  the  reluctant  hand  of  John 
to  the  parchment  of  the  Charter.  In  that  trembling  scrawl 
were  the  English  Constitution,  the  freedom  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ! 

The  advocate  still  continues:  Did  Alexander  make 
himself  ? If  so,  he  did  not  make  Philip  and  Aristotle  ! The 
one  as  his  father  and  the  other  as  his  teacher  are  accredited 
with  making  him  ! It  might  therefore  better  be  said  that 
Aristotle  was  the  conqueror  of  Asia.  But  he  also  was  the 
product  of  a certain  paternity,  and  in  a larger  and  truer 
sense  the  product  of  a certain  age.  Were  the  Draconian 


IN  HISTORY. 


303 


laws  the  work  of  him  whose  name  they  bear,  or  were  they 
only  the  bloody  remnants  of  ancient  savagery  and  night? 
Were  the  Ten  Tables  made  or  compiled?  Were  they 
anything  but  the  reduced  and  simplified  expression  of  im- 
memorial usage?  Is  there  any  such  thing  as  7naking  a 
law  in  any  age  or  country?  What  is  a law-maker  if  not 
one  whom  history  appoints  to  ascertain  the  thought  and 
habit  and  purpose  of  some  of  her  peoples  ? Neither  Moses 
nor  Zoroaster  nor  the  camel-driver  of  Mecca  was  the 
maker  of  the  code  of  Israel,  of  the  Fire  Bible  of  Persia,  of 
the  Arabian  Islam.  The  Hebrew  law  may  be  found  in 
broken  fragments  among  the  lore  and  usage  of  peoples 
older  than  Moses,  older  than  the  flight  from  Ur.  How 
are  constitutions  made?— how  but  in  the  forge  and  fire  of 
time  and  toil,  by  heat  of  war  and  rain  and  shine  of  peace? 

Nations  go  to  battle  as  the  clouds  enter  a storm.  Are 
there  not  unseen  forces  behind  the  one  as  well  as  impel- 
ling the  other?  Do  clouds  really  fight,  or  are  they  not 
rather  driven  into  concussion  ? Are  there  not  unseen  forces 
behind  both  the  nations  and  the  clouds?  Are  not  battle- 
rack  and  cloud-rack  alike  in  this,  that  the  one  is  the  result 
of  the  contending  forces  of  history  and  the  other  the  shock 
of  electrical  currents  and  fight  of  viewless  winds?  The 
visible  clash  is  nothing.  The  armies  and  the  leaders, 
whether  on  the  earth  or  in  the  heavens,  are  but  the  visible 
signs  of  battle  ; and  victory  goes  to  him,  whether  man  or 
cloud,  that  is  flung  with  greater  force  and  momentum 
against  the  other. 

What  was  Rome  but  a catapult,  and  Caesar  but  a 
stone?  He  was  flung  from  it  beyond  the  Alps  to  fall 
upon  the  barbarians  of  Gaul  and  Britain.  What  was 
Martel?  The  very  name  of  him  was  Hammer l He  was 
the  hammer  of  Europe  beating  Africa.  What  was  Alfred 
but  the  bared  right  arm  of  Saxon  England?  What  was 
Dante  but  a wail  of  the  Middle  Ages?  and  what  was 


THE  MAN 


304 

Luther  but  a tocsin?  What  was  Columbus  but  the  hom- 
ing  pigeon  of  an  epoch  of  darkness  and  despair?  What 
was  William  of  Orange  but  the  doubled  fist  of  Holland? 
and  Holland  but  the  doubled  fist  of  Protestantism  ? What 
was  Washington  but  the  unsheathed  sword  of  our  New 
World  democracy?  and  what  was  Napoleon  but  a thun- 
derbolt rattling  among  the  thrones  of  Europe?  He  did 
not  fling  himself,  but  was  flung ! 

Such  is  the  cause  in  court.  Such  are  the  arguments 
with  which  each  of  the  great  pleas  is  supported.  Here 
on  the  one  side  is  the  Man  set  forth  as  the  Author  of  His- 
tory ; and  here  on  the  counter  side  is  History  set  forth  as 
the  maker  of  the  Man.  The  contention  is  as  far-reaching 
as  the  origin  of  the  human  race,  as  strenuous  as  the  cords 
that  bind  our  destinies,  and  as  profound  as  the  seabed  of 
life.  The  time  has  arrived  for  a charge  and  a verdict. 

The  whole  tendency  of  this  momentous  inquiry  respect- 
ing the  place  of  the  man  in  history  has  been  to  reduce  the 
agency  of  the  individual  and  to  show  the  prevalence  of 
the  laws  of  general  causation  over  the  human  race  and 
its  activities.  Just  in  proportion  to  the  illumination  of  the 
understanding  and  the  widening  of  our  field  of  vision  has 
the  acknowledgment  come  of  a reign  of  law,  not  only  in 
the  domain  of  the  material  world,  but  among  all  the  facts 
and  phenomena  of  history.  ^Every  advance  in  our  scien- 
tific knowledge,  every  correction  of  our  reason,  has  con- 
firmed what  was  aforetime  only  a suspicion,  but  has  now 
become  a belief,  namely,  that  the  influence  of  man,  as 
man,  on  the  course  of  events  in  the  world  is  insignificant. 
Though  the  event  itself  is  human,  the  evolution  rises 
above  the  agency  of  man  and  fixes  itself  into  the  general 
laws  and  sequences  which  bind  all  things  together.  As 
for  the  individual,  he  works  at  the  event,  labors  upon  it, 
imagines  even  that  he  shapes  it  with  his  hand  ; but  he 
does  not  really  determine  its  character  or  its  place  in  the 


IN  HISTORY. 


305 


general  movement  of  the  world.  He  is  conscious  of  his 
own  endeavor,  knows  his  plan  and  purpose,  perceives  the 
changes  that  are  going  on  around  him  in  which  he  par- 
ticipates, takes  this  place  or  that  place  in  the  drama  ac- 
cording to  his  will  and  the  will  of  his  fellows  ; but  for  the 
rest,  the  act  goes  on  independently  of  his  powers  and  plans, 
and  the  event  comes  out  at  length  by  its  own  laws  of  de- 
velopment, and  is  above  and  beyond  the  designs  and 
understandings  of  men./ 

It  is  clear  that  history  in  its  larger  and  truer  sense  is  an 
evolution,  more  far-reaching  and  important  than  all  the 
local  and  incidental  aspects  of  human  life.  The  man  op- 
erates in  it  and  is  of  it,  but  does  not  direct  its  course  or 
final  result.  In  the  natural  world  every  organic  body  is 
built  up  of  cells  by  forces  which  relate  to  the  whole 
structure.  The  cell  is  put  into  this  part  or  that  part  ac- 
cording to  the  necessities  and  plan  of  the  general  organ- 
ism. Each  cell  is  seized  and  perfected  by  the  agency  of 
laws  which  have  respect,  not  to  itself,  but  to  the  larger 
life  to  which  it  is  subservient.  The  cells  are  placed  ac- 
cording to  the  fitness  of  things,  and  are  made  to  conduce 
to  an  interest  other  than  their  own.  Their  life  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  grander  life  that  feeds  upon  them.  They 
are  subordinated  to  a plan  so  much  vaster  and  more  im- 
portant than  themselves  that  the  disproportion  of  each  to 
the  organic  whole  is  inconceivable. 

In  like  relation  stands  man  to  history.  He  is  a con- 
scious cell  built  into  the  wall  of  the  world-drama  accord- 
ing to  the  exigency  of  the  tremendous  structure.  True  it 
is  that  he  goes  to  his  place  without  feeling  the  compulsion 
that  is  upon  him.  His  own  will,  being  a part  of  the  gen- 
eral scheme,  cooperates  with  the  plan  and  purpose  of  man- 
life  considered  as  a whole.  He  takes  his  station  here  or 
there  by  preference  ; but  the  preference  itself  is  a part  of 
the  universal  plan.  He  perceives,  within  a narrow  limit, 


THE  MAN 


306 

the  work  that  is  going  on  around  him,  and  his  own  part 
therein.  He  is  able  to  discover  the  nature  and  probable 
design  of  that  small  section  of  the  general  structure  in 
which  he  stands  and  upon  which  he  exerts  his  feeble 
agency.  If  the  event  in  his  part  of  the  field  conforms  to 
his  purpose  and  expectation  he  imagines  that  he  has  been 
the  determining  force  therein  ; and  his  fellows,  if  he  be 
great,  ascribe  to  him  the  agency  which  he  claims. 

It  is  here  that  the  delusion  begins  which  makes  man — 
the  individual — to  be  the  author  of  history.  In  many  cases 
he  seems  to  himself  to  be  so.  The  records  of  his  age  are 
made  up  accordingly  and  transmitted  to  after  times.  So 
the  tradition  arises  here  and  there  that  this  man  or  that  man 
determined  the  history  of  his  epoch.  In  fact,  each  man,  as 
the  scientific  history  declares,  is  but  the  product  of  his 
age — a local  force  which  the  general  laws  of  causation 
demand  and  find  ; or,  to  return  to  the  analogy,  the  man  is 
but  the  living,  conscious  cell  which  historical  causation 
seizes  and  assigns  to  its  place  in  the  general  structure  of 
the  world. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  apprehend  with  clearness  the  sub- 
ordinate place  which  history  assigns  to  the  individual.  We 
are  the  individual ; and  it  is  hard  for  us  to  go  to  our  own 
place  and  stand  among  the  small.  We  are  recusant  against 
the  law  that  governs  our  lives  and  destinies.  There  is  a 
natural  residue  of  resentment  in  the  human  mind  against 
that  principle  which  makes  man  to  be  no  more  than  a local 
circumstance  in  a general  plan  which  he  is  not  even 
able  to  apprehend.  The  man,  being  proud — vain  of  his 
achievement  in  the  sphere  of  his  activity — would  fain  re- 
gard himself  as  the  creator  of  greater  things.  He  cajoles 
himself  into  the  belief  that  he  is  so,  and  does  not  willingly 
agree  to  that  plan  which  makes  him  to  be  but  a conscious 
cell  in  the  walls  of  history.  Before  he  will  assent,  he  must 
be  reasoned  with  and  convinced.  He  must  be  shown  that 


IN  HISTORY. 


307 


* 

his  agency  extends  to  so  limited  a sphere,  and  is  so  brief 
in  its  operation,  as  to  be  necessarily  disregarded  in  that 
general  plan  which  is  as  long  as  time  and  as  profound  as 
space. 

No  estimate  of  history,  and  of  the  place  of  man  therein, 
can  be  adequate  or  satisfying  which  does  not  recognize 
the  complete  subordination  and  immersion  of  the  indi- 
vidual in  the  world-drama  of  which  he  is  but  an  incident. 
The  man  must  be  brought  to  see  the  disproportion  between 
his  agency — whatever  it  is — and  the  tremendous  organic 
whole  in  which  his  destiny  is  laid — a disproportion  as  strik- 
ing and  incommensurable  as  that  of  the  finite  to  the  in- 
finite. 

Consider  for  a moment  the  limitations  which  are  inex- 
orably fixed  around  all  the  boundaries  of  human  life.  Note 
the  limitation  of  time.  The  average  duration  of  the  life 
of  man  is  almost  infinitesimal.  It  is  a handbreadth.  It  is 
naught  as  compared  with  the  stretch  of  the  ages.  Accord- 
ing to  our  world-time  the  event  is  thousands  of  years  old, 
and  is  still  young.  History  in  making  her  facts  and  pre-, 
paring  her  results  demands  multiplied  centuries.  She  pays 
little  attention  to  the  brief  generations  of  men  who  rise 
and  flourish  under  her  extended  dynasty.  To  the  man 
she  assigns  one  decade  of  activity,  or  two,  or  three,  and 
then  he  goes.  He  goes  to  return  not.  But  the  event  does 
not  go.  It  accomplishes  itself  in  its  own  way.  Like  the 
millennial  oak,  it  regards  not  the  vicissitudes  of  season  or 
the  puny  tribes  of  living  creatures  that  vociferate  and  play 
for  a day  beneath  its  tremendous  branches. 

A like  limitation  is  that  of  place.  Man  is  bound  to  a 
single  locality  ; but  the  event  has  the  world  for  its  country. 
Until  the  present  century  man  was  narrowly  circumscribed 
to  the  little  arena  of  his  origin.  He  is  still  circumscribed, 
and  whatever  he  accomplishes  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
as  local  as  himself.  What  he  builds  stands  there,  a brief 


3°8 


THE  MAN 


monument  of  the  small  sphere  of  his  action.  Man  flies 
not,  but  only  walks.  If  he  swim,  it  is  in  the  shoal  waters 
of  the  surf.  The  birds  and  the  fishes  outgo  him,  and  the 
four-footed  creatures  have  greater  speed.  If  we  consider 
his  mind,  his  faculties,  and  aspirations,  even  they  are  lim- 
ited to  places  and  conditions.  In  saying  this  we  do  not 
forget  the  flight  of  thought,  the  excursion  of  intellectual 
force,  the  outreaching  of  human  purposes  ; but  all  these 
are,  in  comparison  with  the  greater  schemes  of  history, 
no  more  than  the  circumference  of  leaves  or  the  flight  of 
insects.  The  man  is  obliged  to  recognize  not  only  the 
brevity  of  his  day,  but  also  the  limitation  of  his  activity 
to  a certain  spot  of  earth  little  affected  by  his  presence  and 
totally  indifferent  to  his  destiny. 

A third  limitation  laid  by  nature  on  man  is  the  weakness 
of  all  his  powers.  He  weighs  not  as  much  as  the  St. 
Bernard  that  trots  by  his  side.  The  ox  easily  outdraws 
him.  The  horse — even  when  bitted  and  reined — dashes 
away  with  him  and  his  carriage.  The  smallest  of  nature’s 
forces  round  about  tosses  him  hither  and  yon.  He  can 
not  see  in  the  night,  or  survive  without  shelter  and  fire. 
Shall  we  call  such  a creature  as  this  the  maker  of  history? 
History  is  stronger  than  the  winds,  mightier  than  the  sea. 
In  her  hands  all  forms  of  life  that  inhabit  the  globe  are  but 
as  the  microscopic  creatures  on  the  slides  of  the  naturalist ! 
To  her  all  seasons  and  years,  all  climates  and  places,  all 
continents  and  dominions,  are  but  the  materials  of  a pur- 
pose which  she  cherishes  and  pursues  on  unbent  lines 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

We  thus  accept  the  subordination  of  man  to  history. 
We  recognize  the  fact  that  the  individual  has  small  place 
in  the  general  movement  of  the  world-drama — small  in- 
fluence in  affecting  the  results  of  the  present  or  final  action. 
It  is  not  meant  that  man  is  naught,  but  only  that  he  is 
weak  and  transient.  It  is  not  meant  that  the  structure  of 


IN  HISTORY. 


309 

history  is  built  up  of  materials  other  than  human  ; but  the 
individual  parts  are  only  the  cells  and  molecules  of  the  or- 
ganic whole.  The  individual  has  his  sphere  of  activity 
and  his  local  force ; but  these  are  only  the  cell-life,  the 
corpuscle  and  tissue  in  the  universal  organism. 

Every  man  in  the  world  is  a miniature  battery.  He  has 
his  small  cup  of  force  the  size  of  a gun-cap  ! In  it  are  the 
acid,  the  carbon,  and  the  zinc.  Out  of  it  reaches  a gossa- 
mer thread  which  attaches  itself  to  the  tremendous  lines 
of  universal  causation  girdling  the  earth  and  binding 
nature.  The  little  gun-cap  battery  discharges  its  modicum 
of  electrical  force  into  the  general  circuit,  and  to  that  ex- 
tent contributes  to  the  motive  power  of  the  world  ! Here, 
however,  the  agency  of  the  individual  ceases,  and  the 
reign  of  law  begins.  Here  the  work  of  man,  as  man,  in 
the  dr^ma  of  history  ends,  and  he  himself  is  absorbed  in 
an  action  the  nature  of  which  he  does  not  understand  and 
the  final  results  of  which  he  may  not  foresee  or  imagine. 

To  this  general  scheme — involving  the  universality  of 
history  and  the  subordination  of  the  individual — all  men 
and  all  events  inevitably  conform.  Each  has  its  place  and 
its  purpose — a place  and  a purpose  little  discoverable  by 
human  faculties,  but  tending  ever,  as  we  are  able  dimly  to 
discern,  to  the  betterment  and  perfection  of  the  human 
race.  It  is  in  the  light  of  this  view  of  history  and  of  man 
that  every  fact  and  event  is  to  be  weighed  and  understood. 
In  the  radiance  of  this  brief  candle  of  knowledge  the  man 
himself  is  to  be  estimated  and  considered.  He  takes  his 
place  under  the  dominion  of  universal  forces,  and  con- 
tributes his  little  part  to  the  destiny  of  the  race. 

Thus  is  history  to  be  known ; and  thus  are  all  men  to  be 
measured  and  interpreted.  Certainly  we  shall  not  take 
away  from  the  conspicuous  actors  of  past  or  present  ages 
their  well-earned  title  of  great.  To  be  great  is  to  answer 
the  call  of  an  epoch.  It  is  to  respond  to  the  conditions  of 


3io 


THE  MAN 


one’s  age,  and  to  fulfill  them.  It  is  to  take  the  rank  and 
office  which  history  has  assigned  beforehand,  and  to  make 
strong  that  part  of  the  eternal  ramparts  in  which  the  living 
agent  may  be  builded.  It  was  thus  that  the  sages  and 
warriors  of  the  ancient  world  answered  in  their  lives  to 
demands  which  went  before  them  and  to  conditions  which 
determined  their  activities  and  fame. 

We  do  not  say  that  there  has  not  been  human  sponta- 
neity in  the  world.  We  do  not  say  that  the  Hindu  poets 
who  sang  the  songs  of  the  Vedas  were  no  more  than  the 
sounds  of  reeds  filled  with  the  natural  wind — no  more 
than  the  rustle  of  leaves  or  the  whir  of  wings  through 
the  thickets  by  the  banks  of  the  Indus  ; they  were  more  than 
that,  for  they  had  thought  and  hope  and  love,  and  whoever 
has  thought  and  hope  and  love  is  immortal.  We  do  not 
say  that  Zoroaster  and  Guatama  had  in  themselves  noth- 
ing of  plan  and  purpose  worthy  to  abide  in  the  soul  of  the 
race  and  survive  forever.  But  these  primitive  reformers 
of  great  races  were  none  the  less  the  products  of  conditions 
that  preceded  them,  and  were  none  the  less  born  in  answer 
to  the  imperative  call  of  history. 

Time  would  fail  to  take  up  and  follow  the  illustrations 
which  rise  on  full  wing  from  every  land  and  clime.  An 
age  came  when  the  world  was  full  of  mythological  follies 
and  spurious  forms  of  thought.  It  was  necessary  that 
these  should  be  whipped  back  into  the  primeval  darkness 
out  of  which  they  had  risen.  Socrates  was  invented  by 
history  for  this  work.  He  was  her  whip,  and  the  sting  of 
it  falls  yet  with  sharpness  on  the  back  of  all  sophistry  and 
lies.  He  came  not  of  his  own  accord,  but  coming  he 
found  his  office,  and  must  fulfill  it.  His  destiny  led  the 
way  even  to  the  dungeon  and  the  hemlock.  Socrates  was 
not  so  much  the  son  of  Sophroniscus  and  Phgenarete  as  he 
was  the  son  of  Athens,  the  son  of  Greece,  the  son  of  the 
Hellenic  race,  the  son  of  reason  and  of  the  ages.  Were 


IN  HISTORY. 


311 

not  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  the  art-blossoms  of  centuries  of 
time?  Were  they  not  born  out  of  Egypt  as  well  as  Hellos? 
Would  either  have  been  possible  at  an  earlier  or  a later 
age?  The  marvels  of  the  Acropolis  rose  under,the  hands 
of  these  masters  ; but  the  masters  themselves  rose  under  ' 
the  hands  of  migration  and  war,  of  poetry  and  patriotism, 
of  triumph  and  pride  of  race,  of  Attic  enthusiasm  and  in- 
tercourse with  the  gods  ! 

Civil  and  political  order  was  one  of  the  necessities  of 
mankind.  It  was  demanded  for  the  further  evolution  and 
progress  of  the  race.  The  antecedent  conditions  of  Rome 
were  prepared  through  ages  of  time.  Her  situation  was 
prepared.  A division  of  mankind  suitable  for  so  great  a 
work  was  prepared  and  imported  from  distant  lands.  The 
old  Kingdom  was  prepared,  then  the  Republic,  and  then 
the  Empire.  The  world  itself  was  prepared  for  conquest 
and  centralization  under  the  sway  of  the  Cagsars.  A con- 
dition was  prepared  for  the  planting  of  a new  religion, 
destined  to  conquer  all  Europe  and  to  become  a prevailing 
force  in  the  New  World. 

What  shall  we  say  of  the  subordinate  parts  of  that  im- 
mense fact  called  Rome,  issuing  as  if  by  birth  from  the 
paternity  of  the  ages?  What  shall  we  say  of  its  individual 
actors — of  them  to  whom  the  making  of  Rome  and  so  large 
a section  of  civilization  has  been  attributed?  What  shall 
we  say  of  Cincinnatus  and  Regulus,  of  Scipio  and  Marius, 
of  Pompey  and  the  baldheaded  Julius  who  beat  him  down, 
of  all  the  Caesars,  of  the  poets,  historians,  law-makers,  and 
orators  who,  from  Augustus  to  Constantine  and  from  Con- 
stantine to  the  Palaeologi,  rose  and  passed  across  the  stage 
of  that  tremendous  drama?  Were  they  not  all  but  the 
fruits  of  time,  the  progeny  of  old  paternities,  the  products 
of  forces  and  conditions  which  were  older  than  the  first 
appearance  of  the  Aryan  race  in  Europe,  older  than 
Egypt,  Chaldaea,  and  India?  These  were  but  the  tran- 


312 


THE  MAN 


sient  actors  in  a scene  which,  extending  through  twenty-one 
centuries  of  time,  was  itself  but  a single  act  in  that  world- 
drama  which  absorbs  the  energies  and  enfolds  the  desti- 
nies of  alh  men  and  nations  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
* of  time. 

Mark  also  the  incidents  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Peter  of 
Picardy,  little  old  monk  in  woolen  mantle,  preaches  a holy 
war  against  the  Infidels.  He  rouses  barbarian  Europe  and 
leads  a crusading  host  in  wild  array  of  fight  to  fall  upon 
the  defilers  of  the  Holy  City.  For  two  centuries  the  world 
is  in  turmoil,  and  Peter  is  its  master.  Such  has  been  the 
story  of  our  book-history,  and  to  that  the  opinion  of  man- 
kind has  long  conformed.  But  who  was  Peter?  and  how 
should  he  be  a force  among  the  nations?  Ignorant,  super- 
stitious, angry,  mounted  on  a mule,  how  should  he  make 
history?  Does  history  proceed  from  a fool  and  a mule? 
Nay,  nay.  Consider  for  a moment  the  far-off  antecedents. 
Yonder  the  Arabian  Prophet  arises.  He  has  been  prepar- 
ing since  the  flight  of  Abraham  ! He  comes  and  converts 
his  people  from  idolatry.  He  and  his  generals  conquer 
the  East.  A race  of  iron-forging  Turcomans  out  of  the 
Altais  make  their  way  westward,  and  smite  Persia.  As- 
syria and  Asia  Minor  fall  before  their  prowess.  They  ac- 
cept the  doctrines  of  Islam  from  the  conquered.,  but  can 
not  be  stayed  till  they  possess  themselves  of  the  City  of 
David  and  sit  cross-legged  on  the  holy  tomb. 

Hitherto,  Christian  pilgrims  had  been  well  treated  by 
the  polite  Arabians  in  the  East ; but  to  the  Turcomans  all 
Christians  were  giaours  and  dogs.  Meanwhile  the  barba- 
rians of  Western  Europe  had  become  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity. Through  more  than  four  centuries  they  had  been 
wrought  up  to  the  stage  of  fiery  zeal  and  warfare.  All  of 
these  conditions  had  been  prepared  in  the  vast  laboratory 
of  history ; and  no  man  had  been  consulted!  When  the 
news  came  of  outrages  done  to  pilgrims  in  Palestine,  what 


IN  HISTORY. 


313 


should  barbaric  Christendom  do  but  explode  with  volcanic 
glare  and  smoke,  scoria  and  cataclysm  of  both  nature  and 
man  until  the  rage  should  appease  itself  with  blood  and 
destruction?  Now  came  Peter  and  Urban  ; then  Godfrey 
and  the  Lion  Heart ; Barbarossa  and  Saint  Louis.  What 
were  these? — what  but  the  products  of  agencies  working 
through  three  continents  and  compelling  men  to  battle  as 
the  clouds  are  compelled  by  the  winds.  There  along  all 
roadsides  from  the  Alps  to  Antioch  three  million  of  the 
Crusaders  piled  their  bones.  It  was  the  wreck  of  European 
fanaticism — a wreck  of  feudal  elements  thrown  in  bleach- 
ing lines,  not  by  the  hands  of  man,  but  as  the  work  of 
history.  Was  not  the  hermit  born  in  Asia  as  much  as  in 
Europe?  Did  he  lead  the  Crusade?  or  was  he  not  rather 
himself,  with  all  the  rest-— Baldwin,  Raymond,  Godfrey, 
Plantagenet,  Red  Beard,  peasant,  Pope,  king — borne 
along  on  the  turbulent  flood  rolling  through  the  centuries, 
pursuing  its  own  course  and  swallowing  men  like  bubbles  ? 

Or  mark  the  intellectual  progress  of  the  world.  This 
also  is  accomplished  by  human  agency  ; but  the  men  in 
whose  brains  the  dawn-torches  of  the  new  centuries  are 
carried  are  prepared  for  their  places  by  the  same  laws 
which  make  them  necessary.  In  no  other  light  can  the 
intellectual  leaders  of  mankind  be  understood  and  inter- 
preted. The  time  came  when  the  human  mind  demanded 
a new  concept  0/  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  The  old 
concept  no  longer  sufficed.  The  Ptolemaic  system  of  the 
planets  and  stars  became  a mock  in  the  high  courts  of  rea- 
son. Such  a notion  of  the  universe  must  be  cast  forth  and 
thrown  on  the  refuse  heaps  with  all  mythologies  and  lies, 
with  all  false  notions  of  nature  and  goblins  of  the  mind, 
there  to  decay  with  the  offal  of  the  ages. 

Order  must  be  found  and  instituted  in  the  skies.  The 
epoch  of  discovery  was  first  prepared  ; and  then  the  dis- 
coverers. They  were  necessary  in  their  season  to  fill  the 


3H 


THE  MAN 


expectation  of  the  world.  It  was  thus  that  history  found 
Galileo  and  Copernicus.  Afterwards  she  devised  Newton 
and  Laplace.  These  she  commissioned  to  speak  to  men 
of  new  facts  in  the  starry  spheres,  new  worlds  and  suns, 
and  new  laws  for  the  government  of  all.  True  it  is  that 
the  great  astronomers  were  the  organs  of  intelligence,  the 
teachers  of  order,  the  evangelists  of  sublimity  for  all  men 
and  nations  ; but  they  were  themselves  born  into  the  world 
of  an  infinite  paternity,  and  were  developed  by  the  com- 
pulsion of  forces  that  had  been  working  among  mankind 
since  the  dawn  of  the  civilized  life. 

In  like  manner  the  old  concepts  of  animated  nature 
passed  away.  The  intellect  was  no  longer  satisfied  with 
those  notions  of  irregularity,  accident,  lawlessness,  and 
chance  which  had  prevailed  respecting  all  living  beings  and 
the  laws  of  their  creation.  The  mind  demanded  that  the 
natural  history  of  life  be  rewritten  in  intelligible  language, 
and  for  this  work  she  chose  not  only  her  age  and  her  race, 
but  also  her  man.  A still  small  voice  was  heard  above  the 
roar  and  confusion  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  the 
voice  of  Darwin  proclaiming  a new  law  for  man  and  nature. 
It  was  a voice  that  stirred  the  topmost  branches  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge.  It  moved  like  a viewless  sound  through  all  the 
courts  and  corridors  of  civilization.  It  caught  like  an  elec- 
tric spark  in  the  understandings  of  men,  and  the  prevailing 
crude  opinions  of  the  race  respecting  the  phenomena  of  life 
were  transformed  into  sublime  and  beautiful  order.  But 
Darwin  himself  was  the  product  of  his  age.  He  was  the  son 
of  England  and  Humanity.  He  was  demanded  and  found 
and  developed  by  antecedents  and  conditions  as  old  as  the 
revival  of  learning,  as  old  as  the  curious  speculations  of 
the  Greeks,  as  old  as  the  spirit  of  inquiry  in  the  bosom  of 
mankind. 

The  theme  becomes  an  echo  of  itself.  The  illustrations 
of  its  truth  spring  from  every  age  and  from  every  phase  of 


IN  HISTORY. 


315 


human  progress.  The  old  concepts  of  statesmanship  vanish 
from  the  human  mind  ; and  even  the  ancient  view  of  philan- 
thropy is  changed  for  a more  rational  concept  of  the  good 
deeds  and  holy  characters  of  men.  Peace  and  war  are  no 
longer  determined  by  the  personal  wills  and  puny  arms  of 
the  actors  in  the  conflict.  Nations  and  peoples  in  all  the 
forms  of  their  activity  and  accomplishment  are  seen  to  be 
but  the  effects  of  causes — the  offspring  of  the  past.  The 
heroic  figures  who  impersonate  their  epochs,  who  express 
in  their  lives  the  highest  thought  and  purpose  of  their 
century,  are  made  by  historical  forces,  are  borne  aloft  for 
the  brief  day  of  their  activity  on  the  billows  of  the  eternal 
seas. 

Thus  came  Cromwell  out  of  the  stormy  bosom  and 
motherhood  of  Anglo-Saxon  England.  The  field  of  his 
activity  had  been  long  preparing,  by  armies  and  parlia- 
ments and  kings,  by  religious  insurrections,  by  battling 
opinions  and  the  onset  of  races.  His  paternity  extended 
through  a millennium  of  time  and  fixed  itself  with  a thou- 
sand roots  among  the  institutions,  tyrannies,  and  turbu- 
lence of  the  Dark  Ages.  William  the  Silent  was  also  born 
out  of  the  loins  of  a mighty  and  unknown  fatherhood.  He 
came  with  the  blood  of  the  Teutonic  races,  by  the  heroic 
struggles  of  their  tribes,  by  the  compulsion  of  instincts  and 
trials  which  made  freedom  by  sword  and  shield  the  war- 
cry  of  the  primitive  Germans  and  the  inheritance  of  their 
descendants. 

Washington,  the  serene  Father  of  his  country,  was  him- 
self the  son  of  a larger  country — the  country  of  human 
liberty.  He  was  the  gift  of  destiny  and  Providence  to  an 
age  whose  hinder  parts  were  still  held  in  the  meshes  of 
feudalism.  He  was  commissioned  by  a power  above  him- 
self to  cut  his  country  free  from  a tyrannous  and  despair- 
ing  past.  He  was  the  sword  and  counseling  voice  of  an 
epoch  which  nurtured  him  for  his  great  office  and  gave 


3 16 


THE  MAN  IN  HISTORY. 


him  to  mankind.  Napoleon  truly  called  himself  the  child 
of  the  Republic,  the  son  of  Destiny.  Lincoln  and  Grant 
were  the  agents  of  a great  age.  They  were  sent  to  break 
the  Black  Man’s  fetters,  to  crush  the  oppressor  in  his 
wrong,  to  decorate  with  some  new  glories  the  temple  of 
Freedom  which  history  by  our  fathers’  hands  had  reared 
as  the  shrine  of  patriotism  and  equality. 

The  discovery  of  America  was  the  greatest  secular  event 
in  the  history  of  mankind.  Time  had  prepared  for  it 
through  centuries  of  longing  and  doubt.  Ne  -plus  ultra 
had  been  written  on  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  ; but  the  human 
soul  still  said  Plus  ultra!  The  vision  of  hope  was  on  the 
waters.  The  pressure  of  the  ages  bore  hard  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  man,  but  the  dream  of  Atlantis  was  still  in  his  brain 
and  spirit ! The  Man  of  Genoa  came.  He  was  also  the 
man  of  Italy,  the  man  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  man  of 
all  seas  and  shores.  Destiny  set  him  on  her  hand  and 
said  to  him  fly  ! — and  he  flew.  He  went  and  came  again. 
He  returned  with  gyves  on  his  wrists,  and  a New  World 
for  his  trophy.  To  Castile  and  Leon  he  gave  it ; but  in  a 
larger  sense  he  gave  it  to  mankind  as  an  arena  of  reviv- 
ing progress,  freedom  and  eternal  hope.  Great  was  his 
embassy  in  the  midst  of  the  centuries,  and  he  himself  was 
glorious.  He  was  sublime  in  thought  and  supreme  in  ac- 
tion. Now  the  ages  have  crowned  him — he  is  immortal ! 
The  aureole  of  everlasting  fame  is  on  his  head.  But  His- 
tory made  the  Man — made  him  and  gave  him  to  the  world. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


VOLUME  II. 


NUMBER  8. 


OUIATANON 

A STUDY  IN  INDIANA  HISTORY 


# 


BY 

OSCAR  J.  CRAIG,  A.  M.,  PH.  D. 

Professor  History  and  Political  Economy,  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Ind. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1893. 


NOTE. 


The  extracts  from  letters  and  documents  given  in  this 
study  are  quoted  literally.  No  attempt  is  made  to  change 
either  spelling  or  grammatical  arrangement.  It  should 
be  noted,  however,  that  such  proper  names  as  Wabash, 
Ohio  and  Ouiatanon  were  frequently  written  in  different 
ways  and  had  no  fixed  orthography  until  later  years. 


OUIATANON. 


On  the  west  side  of  the  Wabash  river  and  four  miles 
below  the  present  city  of  Lafayette  is  one  of  the  historic 
spots  of  Indiana.  It  is  the  site  of  Post  Ouiatanon.1  A 
place  where  for  nearly  a century  was  maintained  a trad- 
ing  post  and  settlement.  A place  that,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  accidents  of  war,  would  still  be  known  as  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  Indiana. 

La  Salle  was  doubtless  the  first  white  man  to  cross  the 
territory  now  included  within  the  limits  of  the  State. 
This  bold  voyageur  was  one  of  the  most  dauntless  of  the 
early  French  explorers.  He  was  educated  as  a Jesuit, 
but  severed  his  connection  with  that  order  and  came  from 
France  to  Canada  in  1666.  The  monks  of  St.  Sulpice 
granted  him  a tract  of  land  a short  distance  from  Montreal, 
and  this  he  named  La  Chine. 

La  Chine  served  as  a kind  of  frontier  post  for  Montreal, 
and  here  La  Salle  proposed  to  establish  the  basis  of  his 
operations  in  the  fur  trade.  While  here  he  learned  of  the 
Ohio  river  from  a band  of  Seneca  Indians,  and,  being 
attracted  by  the  descriptions  of  it,  asked  permission  of  the 
Canadian  authorities  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  southward  and  west.  This  permission 
was  granted. 

The  first  mention  made  of  this  expedition  is  by  Patoulet, 
November  11,  1669.  He  says,  “ Messieurs  La  Salle  and 

1 Pronounced  We-aht-ah-non. 

(319) 


320 


OTJIATANON. 


Dolier  have  set  out  accompanied  by  twelve  men  with  a 
design  to  go  and  explore  a passage  they  expect  to  dis- 
cover communicating  with  Japan  and  China.”1 

Talon,  Intendant  of  Canada,  under  date  of  July,  1670, 
wrote  to  the  king  of  France  as  follows:  “Since  my  ar- 
rival I have  despatched  persons  of  resolution  who  promise 
to  penetrate  further  than  has  ever  been  done.  The  one 
to  the  west  and  northwest  of  Canada  and  the  others  to 
the  southwest  and  south.  These  adventurers  are  to  keep 
journals  in  all  instances,  and  reply  on  their  return  to  the 
written  instructions  that  I have  given  them  ; in  all  cases 
they  are  to  take  possession,  display  the  king’s  arms,  and 
draw  up  proces  verbaux  to  serve  as  titles.”2 

We  find  that  these  expeditions  were  approved,  for  Col- 
bert, the  French  Minister,  replies  in  February,  1671, 
“The  resolution  you  have  adopted  to  send  Sieur  de  La 
Salle  toward  the  south  and  Sieur  de  St.  Lusson  toward 
the  north  in  order  to  discover  the  passage  to  the  South 
Sea  is  very  good,  but  the  principal  thing  to  which  you 
ought  to  apply  yourself  in  these  sort  of  discoveries  is  to 
look  for  the  copper  mine.”3 

The  Sulpician  monks  joined  with  La  Salle  in  fitting 
out  this  expedition  and  two  of  their  number,  Dolier  and 
Gallinee,  were  appointed  to  act  in  concert  with  him.  On 
the  6th  of  July,  1669,  the  combined  parties,  numbering 
seven  canoes  and  twenty-four  men,  started  from  La 
Chine.  Having  passed  Niagara  Falls  and  reached  a 
point  not  far  from  where  Hamilton  now  stands,  they  met 
Joliet,  who  was  returning  from  the  northwest  where  he  had 
been  sent  to  investigate  the  Lake  Superior  copper  mines. 
Joliet  told  them  of  the  numerous  Indian  tribes  in  that  lake 
region,  who  were  without  any  knowledge  of  God.  This 

1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  787. 

2 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  64. 

3 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  70. 


OU I AT  A NON. 


321 


so  influenced  Dolier  and  Gallinee  that  they  determined 
to  give  up  trying  to  reach  the  Ohio  and  go  to  these  tribes 
as  missionaries.  La  Salle  reminded  them  in  vain  of  the 
fact  that  the  Jesuits  had  already  occupied  that  territory 
and  would  probably  give  them,  the  representatives  of  a 
different  order,  the  order  of  St.  Sulpice,  very  little  en- 
couragement. 

The  company  separated,  the  priests  going  to  the  north- 
west and  La  Salle  continuing  in  his  purpose  of  reaching 
the  Ohio.1  He  was  successful,  but  how  far  down  he  fol- 
lowed it  is  a matter  of  some  conjecture,  probably  as  far  as 
the  rapids  near  the  present  city  of  New  Albany,  possibly 
as  far  as  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi.  It  was  then 
thought  that  the  Ohio  found  its  way  into  the  Mississippi, 
and  that  the  Mississippi  emptied  into  the  Vermillion  sea, 
now  called  the  Gulf  of  California.  It  was  not  until  1682, 
when  La  Salle  descended  the  Illinois  into  the  Mississippi, 
and  from  thence  floated  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  that  the 
true  course  of  the  Father  of  Waters  was  known. 

Concerning  La  Salle’s  movements  after  being  deserted 
by  the  two  Sulpicians,  Dolier  and  Gallinee,  two  versions 
are  given.  These  accounts  are  not  contradictory,  although 
they  differ  in  some  minor  matters  of  detail  and  are  prob- 
ably, for  the  most  part,  true.  The  first  of  these  accounts 
is  as  follows  : 

“Meanwhile  M.  de  la  Salle  continued  on  his  way  by  a 
river  which  runs  from  east  to  west  and  passed  to  Onon- 
daga, afterward  to  six  or  seven  leagues  below  Lake  Erie  ; 
and  having  reached  as  far  as  the  280th  or  283rd  degree  of 
longitude  and  to  the  41st  degree  of  latitude,  he  found  a 
rapid  which  falls  to  the  west  into  a lowland,  marshy,  cov- 
ered with  dead  trees,  of  which  there  were  some  that  were 
standing.  He  was  obliged  to  take  to  the  land,  and,  fol- 


Tarkman. 


3 22 


OUIATANON. 


lowing  a ridge  which  led  him  a long  distance,  he  found 
certain  savages  who  told  him  that  afar  off  from  there  the 
same  stream  which  lost  itself  in  this  vast  and  low  country 
reunited  in  a channel.  He  then  continued  his  journey, 
but  as  the  fatigue  became  very  great  twenty-three  or 
twenty-four  men  who  had  followed  him  thus  far  quitted 
him  in  one  night,  regained  the  river  and  made  their  way,* 
some  to  New  Holland  and  some  to  New  England.  He 
then  found  himself  alone,  four  hundred  leagues  from  home, 
whither  he  hastened  to  return,  reascending  the  river  and 
living  by  the  chase  and  by  herbs  and  by  what  the  Indians 
that  he  met  on  the  road  gave  him.”1 

The  other  is  an  account  given  by  La  Salle  himself.  It  is 
found  in  a memoir  addressed  to  the  king.  In  this  memoir 
he  asks  for  certain  privileges,  and  recounts  his  explora- 
tions, speaking  of  himself  in  the  third  person. 

“In  the  year  1667,  and  those  following,  he  made  divers 
voyages  with  much  expense  in  which  he  for  the  first  time 
explored  many  countries  to  the  south  of  the  great  lakes 
and  among  others,  the  great  river  of  Ohio  ; he  followed  it 
to  a place  where  it  empties  into  vast  marshes  at  the  lati- 
tude of  37  degrees,  after  having  been  increased  by  another 
river,  very  large,  which  comes  from  the  north  ; and  all 
these  waters  discharge  themselves  according  to  all  appear- 
ances into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.” 

Some  of  the  statements  in  these  accounts  are  evidently 
inaccurate  ; as,  for  instance,  the  geographical  situation  as 
regards  latitude  and  longitude.  Enough,  however,  is  be- 
yond controversy  to  establish  the  fact  that  La  Salle  dis- 
covered the  Ohio  river  and  coasted  the  southern  shores  of 
Indiana. 

From  the  above  accounts  it  might  readily  be  inferred 
that  La  Salle  discovered  the  upper  Mississippi.  His  friends 


’Margry.  Vol.  I.  Pages  377-378. 


OUIATANON. 


323 


have  made  that  claim  and  pushed  it  with  considerable  per- 
sistency but  the  honor  of  this  discovery  is  usually  conceded 
to  Joliet.  Even  if  La  Salle  did  follow  the  Ohio  to  its  mouth, 
he  never  realized  the  situation  and  never  claimed  the  honor 
of  having  discovered  the  Mississippi ; something  he  surely 
would  have  done  had  he  considered  himself  entitled  to  that 
distinction. 

The  French  claimed  the  beautiful  river  because  La  Salle 
discovered  it.  In  his  instructions  to  M.  Du  Quesne  under 
date  of  1752,  the  following  passage  occurs:  “The  river 
Ohio,  otherwise  called  the  Beautiful  River,  and  its  tribu- 
taries belong  indisputably  to  France,  by  virtue  of  the  dis- 
covery by  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  of  the  trading  posts  the  French 
have  had  there  since,  and  of  possession  which  is  so  much 
the  more  unquestionable  as  it  constitutes  the  most  frequent 
communication  from  Canada  to  Louisiana.  It  is  only 
within  a few  years  that  the  English  have  undertaken  to 
trade  there  ; and  now  they  pretend  to  exclude  us  from  it.”1 

In  a letter  of  private  instructions  to  M.  Vaudreuil,  dated 
Versailles,  1755,  it  is  affirmed  that  “ It  is  only  since  the 
last  war  that  the  English  have  set  up  claim  to  the  territory 
on  the  Beautiful  River,  the  possession  whereof  has  never 
* been  disputed  to  the  French,  who  have  always  resorted  to 

that  river  since  it  was  discovered  by  Sieur  de  La  Lassalle.”2 

That  the  Canadian  authorities  regarded  La  Salle’s  ex- 
pedition as  of  great  importance,  is  shown  by  a letter  written 
to  M.  Talon.  He  says,  “Sieur  de  La  Salle  has  not  yet 
returned  from  his  journey  to  the  southward  of  this  country. 
But  Sieur  de  St.  Lusson  is  returned  after  having  advanced 
as  far  as  five  hundred  leagues  from  here,  and  planted  the 
cross  and  set  up  the  king’s  arms  in  presence  of  seventeen 
Indian  nations,  assembled  on  this  occasion  from  all  parts. 


*N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  X.  Page  243. 

2 X.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  X.  Page  293. 


324 


OUIATANON. 


All  of  whom  voluntarily  submitted  themselves  to  the  do- 
minion of  his  majesty,  whom  alone  they  regard  asv  their 
sovereign  protector.”1  This  ceremony  was  performed  at 
or  near  the  falls  of  the  St.  Mary  between  Lake  Huron  and 
Lake  Superior. 

The  desire  of  the  French  to  secure  trading  posts  and 
military  stations  in  the  Ohio  valley,  and  thereby  to  secure 
the  commerce  of  the  Indians  in  that  quarter  is  well  set 
forth  in  a narrative  of  the  voyage  of  Governor  Courcelles 
of  Canada,  in  1671.  It  is  as  follows:  “Wherefore  some 
means  were  sought  a long  time  ago  to  prevent  the  Iroquois 
going  to  New  Netherland  to  trade,  and  the  best  assuredly 
would  be  to  establish  a post  as  far  up  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Ontario  to  command  the  pass  through  which  this  people 
go  to  trade  when  returning  from  the  chase,  and  thus 
the  French  would  absolutely  control  it.  For  this  purpose 
it  was  necessary  to  reconnoitre  the  place,  examine  the 
most  convenient  sites  and  the  finest  land,  and  this  the 
Governor  has  done  in  this  voyage.  I shall  add  here  a 
reason  for  this  voyage  of  no  trifling  importance.  Two 
years  ago,  two  ecclesiastics  left  here  [to  visit]  divers  Indian 
nations  situated  along  a great  river,  called  by  the  Iroquois 
Ohio,  and  by  the  Outaouas  Mississippi.  Their  design  did 
not  succeed  owing  to  some  inconveniences  very  usual  in 
these  sort  of  enterprises.  They  learned,  however,  from 
these  advances  they  made  toward  the  river  that  it  was 
larger  than  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  that  the  tribes  settled 
along  its  banks  were  very  numerous,  and  that  its  ordinary 
course  was  from  east  to  west.  After  having  carefully  ex- 
amined the  maps  we  have  of  New  Sweden,  of  the  Floridas, 
of  Virginia  and  Old  Mexico,  I did  not  discover  any  river 
mouth  comparable  to  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  This 
leads  us  to  think  that  the  river  of  which  we  speak  disem- 


1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IY.  Page  72. 


OUIATANON. 


325 

bogues  into  another  sea — to  determine  which  I leave  to 
the  judgment  of  the  more  learned.  Nevertheless  it  is 
probable  that  it  waters  those  countries  toward  New  Spain, 
which  abound  in  gold  and  silver.”1 

The  year  following  La  Salle’s  discovery  of  the  Ohio  he 
seems  to  have  passed  around  through  lakes  Huron  and 
the  straits  of  Mackinac  into  Lake  Michigan.  From  its 
southern  extremity  he  found  his  way  to  the  Illinois.  On 
his  return  he  kept  farther  south  and  crossed  Indiana  near 
the  marshes  of  the  Kankakee.  Only  a few  years  later  we 
find  him  familiar  with  the  passage  up  the  St.  Joseph  and 
down  the  Kankakee  into  the  Illinois.  In  1679  La  Salle 
built  Fort  Miamis  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  in 
Michigan.  After  ascending  the  St.  Joseph  to  a portage 
which  led  across  to  the  Kankakee,  in  company  with 
Tonty,  Father  Hennepin  and  thirty-one  other  followers  he 
passed  down  the  Kankakee  into  the  Illinois,  and  landing 
below  Peoria  Lake  built  Ft.  Crevecoeur.  [Broken  Heart.] 
This  place  was  so  named  on  account  of  the  loss  of  the 
Griffin,  a vessel  he  had  built  for  use  in  carrying  his  sup- 
plies and  merchandise  on  the  lakes.  This  vessel  had  just 
been  wrecked,  either  by  accident  or  by  the  treachery  of 
the  pilot. 

Father  Hennepin  wrote  a description  of  the  building  of 
Fort  Miamis,  which  incidentally  sheds  a great  deal  of 
light  on  those  early  days.  He  says  just  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Miamis  there  was  an  eminence  with  a kind  of 
platform  naturally  fortified.  It  was  pretty  high  and  steep, 
of  a triangular  form,  defended  on  two  sides  by  the  river 
and  on  the  other  by  a deep  ditch  which  the  fall  of  the  wa- 
ters had  made.  We  felled  the  trees  that  were  on  the  top  of 
the  hill,  and  having  cleared  the  same  from  bushes  for 
about  two  musket  shot  we  began  to  build  a redoubt  of 


1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  82. 


OUIA  TAN  ON. 


326 

eighty  feet  long  and  forty  feet  broad  with  great  square 
pieces  of  timber  laid  one  upon  another,  and  prepared  a 
great  number  of  stakes  of  about  twenty-five  feet  long  to 
drive  into  the  ground  to  make  our  fort  the  more  accessible 
on  the  river  side.  We  employed  the  whole  month  of  No- 
vember (1679)  about  that  work,  which  was  very  hard, 
though  we  had  no  other  food  but  the  bear’s  flesh  our  sav- 
age killed.  These  beasts  are  very  common  in  that  place 
because  of  the  great  quantity  of  grapes  they  find  there,  but 
their  flesh  being  too  fat  and  luscious  our  men  began  to  be 
weary  of  it,  and  desired  to  go  hunting  to  kill  some  wild 
goats.  M.  La  Salle  denied  them  that  liberty,  which 
caused  some  murmurs  among  them,  and  it  was  but  unwil- 
lingly that  they  continued  their  work.  This,  together 
with  the  approach  of  winter  and  the  apprehension  that  M. 
La  Salle  had  that  his  vessel  was  lost  made  him  very  mel- 
ancholy, though  he  concealed  it  as  much  as  he  could.  We 
had  made  a cabin  wherein  we  performed  divine  service 
every  Sunday,  and  father  Gabriel  and  I,  who  preached 
alternately,  took  care  to  take  such  texts  as  were  suited  to 
our  present  circumstances,  and  fit  to  inspire  us  with  cour- 
age, concord  and  brotherly  love.” 

That  La  Salle  continued  to  trade  in  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio,  the  Wabash  and  their  tributaries  is  not  only  a natural 
thing  to  expect  but  is  evidenced  by  a memoir  of  Denon- 
ville,  on  the  French  limits  in  North  America,  in  which  the 
passage  occurs.  “For  the  continuation  of  which  trade  he 
caused  a fort  and  buildings  to  be  erected  and  a bark  to 
be  began  at  a place  called  Crevecoeur  in  order  to  proceed 
as  far  as  the  said  South  Sea,  two-thirds  of  which  bark 
onlv  were  built,  the  said  de  la  Salle  having  afterward  em- 
ployed canoes  for  his  trade  in  said  countries,  as  he  had 
already  done  for  several  years  in  the  rivers  Oyo,  Ouabache 
and  others  in  the  surrounding  neighborhood  which  flow  into 
the  said  Mississippi  river,  whereof  possession  had  been 


OUIATANON.  327 

taken  by  him  in  the  king’s  name,  as  appears  by  the  rela- 
tions made  thereof.”1 

In  1683  La  Salle  established  an  Indian  Confederacy  on 
the  Illinois  river  at  Fort  St.  Louis.  The  purpose  of  this 
confederacy  was  to  protect  the  French  commercial  inter- 
ests in  the  west  and  to  defend  their  Indian  allies  from  the 
attacks  of  the  Iroquois.  The  Iroquois  nation  had  been,  as 
a rule,  friendly  to  the  English  and  hostile  towards  the 
French.  From  their  country  in  New  York  they  were  in 
the  habit  of  making  incursions  further  west  in  search  of 
furs  or  on  the  war-path  against  other  tribes.  Sometimes 
these  expeditions  extended  almost  to  the  Mississippi.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  this  confederacy  Indiana  was  almost  en- 
tirely denuded  of  the  Indian  population,  as  the  tribes  in 
this  locality  were  friendly  to  the  French  and  emigrated  to 
Fort  St.  Louis. 

Between  1671  and  1683,  the  time  of  the  founding  of  the 
confederacy,  it  is  extremely  probable  that  fur  traders  vis- 
ited the  state,  but  it  was  not  until  the  confederacy  was 
broken  up  and  the  Indians  had  returned  and  relocated 
that  trading  posts  were  established.  Ouiatanon,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  one  of  the  first  of  these,  on  ac- 
count of  its  favorable  situation.  It  is  located  at  that  point 
on  the  Wabash  where  the  lighter  barks  and  canoes  that 
were  used  in  the  carrying  trade  between  Canada  and  the 
southwest  by  way  of  the  Miami  and  the  Little  Wabash 
were  changed  for  larger  ones  to  be  used  on  the  deeper 
waters  of  the  lower  Wabash  and  the  Ohio. 

A reference  to  the  map  of  Indiana  will  show  that  by  as- 
cending the  Little  Wabash  the  portage  across  to  the  St. 
Mary’s  and  the  Maumee  was  very  short. 

This  post  was  to  the  Indians  and  fur  traders  of  that  day 
the  head  of  deep  water  navigation,  just  as  in  later  years 


’N.  Y.  Col.  Doc . Yol.  IX.  Page  383. 


OUIATANON. 


328 

and  before  the  days  of  railroads  Lafayette,  only  four 
miles  above  it,  was  known  as  the  head  of  steamboat  navi- 
gation on  the  Wabash. 

In  addition  to  the  facilities  for  trade  already  mentioned, 
there  were  other  considerations  that  made  Ouiatanon  a 
favored  locality.  It  was  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wea  river,  a place  where  fish  of  many  kinds  were  very 
plentiful.  Near  by  was  to  be  found  a fertile  soil,  easy  of 
cultivation  and  well  adapted  to  the  simple  agricultural 
methods  of  the  times.  Within  easy  distance  were  to  be 
found  extensive  prairies  and  thickly  wooded  forests  each 
supplying  its  own  particular  kinds  of  game.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  imagine  a place  better  suited  to  purposes  of 
trading  post  and  settlement  than  was  this  one.  While 
easy  of  access  yet  within  signaling  distance  were  eleva- 
tions that  commanded  a view  of  the  country  in  all  direc- 
tions. 

It  was  one  of  the  early  traditions  that  valuable  mines 
existed  somewhere  in  this  vicinity — mines  of  silver,  of 
copper  and  of  coal.  Some  of  these  traditions  have  come 
down  even  to  the  present  generation.  But  no  such  mines 
have  ever  been  found  to  exist  near  this  locality. 

Recently  prospectors  are  said  to  have  found  coal  a few 
miles  above  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  river. 
But  no  mines  have  yet  been  developed. 

Before  the  year  1718  we  find  that  the  Ouiatanons,  after 
which  tribe  the  post  was  named,  were  located  in  this 
neighborhood.  They  had  once  lived  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  at  another  time  in  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes. 
Thev  were  related  to  the  Miamis  and  helped  to  form  the 
great  Miami  Confederacy.  They  had  moved  to  Fort  St. 
Louis,  and  were  a part  of  La  Salle’s  colony,  but  on  the  as- 
sassination of  La  Salle  and  the  disbanding  of  that  confed- 
eracy  gradually  made  their  way  to  the  Wabash  and  estab- 
lished themselves  at  this  place. 


OTJIATANON. 


3 2 9 

A French  writer  thus  describes  Ouiatanon  in  1718: 

“This  river  Ouabache  is  the  one  on  which  the  Ouyata- 
nons  are  settled.  . They  consist  of  five  villages  which  are 
contiguous,  the  one  to  the  other.  One  is  called  Oujata- 
non,  the  other  Feanguichias,  and  another  Petitscotias  and 
the  fourth  Les  Gros.  The  name  of  the  last  I do  not  recol- 
lect, but  they  are  all  Ouj&tanons,  having  the  same  language 
as  the  Miamis,  whose  brothers  they  are  and  property 
all  Miamis,  having  all  the  same  customs  and  dress.  The 
men  are  very  numerous,  fully  a thousand  or  twelve  hun- 
dred. They  have  a custom  different  from  all  the  other 
nations  which  is  to  keep  their  fort  clean,  not  allowing  a 
blade  of  grass  to  remain  in  it.  The  whole  of  the  fort  is 
sanded  like  the  Tuilleries.  * * * Their  village  is  situ- 

ated on  a high  hill  and  they  have  over  two  leagues  of  im- 
provements, where  they  raise  Indian  corn,  pumpkins  and 
melons.  From  the  summit  of  this  elevation  nothing  is 
visible  to  the  eye  but  prairies  full  of  buffaloes.  Their  play 
and  dancing  is  incessant.  All  these  tribes  use  a vast 
quantity  of  Vermillion.  The  women  wear  clothing ; the 
men  very  little.”1 

This  description  of  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  ele- 
vation of  the  country  is  exceedingly  accurate.  The  soil 
is  a loose  sand  and  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  products 
named,  especially  the  melon.  From  a point  of  land  a 
short  distance  from  the  place  occupied  by  the  fort  the  view 
is  one  of  the  finest.  To  the  left  the  Wea  Plains  and  the 
city  of  Lafayette,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  in  front  are 
prairies  dotted  here  and  there  with  groves  of  timber ; to 
the  right,  the  Wabash  valley  extends  indefinitely. 

The  French,  in  order  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the 
English  and  to  keep  their  ascendancy  over  the  Indians, 
established  a military  post  at  Ouiatanon  in  1719  or  1720. 


*N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  891. 


330 


OUI AT  ANON. 


Under  date  of  October  28th,  1719,  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of 
Canada,  wrote  to  the  Council  of  Marine:  “I  learn  from 
the  last  letters  that  have  arrived  from  the  Miamis  that 
Sieur  de  Vincennes  having  died  in  their  village  these 
Indians  had  resolved  not  to  move  to  the  river  St.  Joseph 
and  to  remain  where  they  are.  As  this  resolution  is  very 
dangerous  on  account  of  the  facility  they  will  have  of 
communicating  with  the  English,  who  are  constantly  dis- 
tributing belts  in  secret  among  all  the  nations  to  attract 
them  to  themselves  by  means  of  certain  Iroquois  runners 
and  others  in  their  pay,  I had  designed  Sieur  Dubuisson 
for  the  command  of  the  post  of  Oujatanons  and  that  he 
should  on  going  thither  employ  his  credit  among  the 
Miamis  so  as  to  determine  that  nation  to  proceed  to  the 
river  St.  Joseph,  or,  if  not  willing  to  leave  that  it  should 
remain  at  its  place  of  residence  in  order  to  counteract  the 
effect  of  all  those  belts  it  was  too  frequently  receiving 
and  which,  as  they  caused  eight  or  ten  Miami  canoes  to 
go  this  year  to  trade  at  Orange,  might  finally  induce  all 
that  nation  to  follow  their  example.”1 

It  is  probable  that  the  garrison  did  not  reach  the  post 
before  1720.  The  exact  location  of  this  fort  has  been  a 
matter  of  much  dispute,  but  a careful  investigation  of 
maps  and  descriptions  of  the  post  as  well  as  the  recent 
finding  of  material  such  as  Jesuit  crosses,  vessels  used  in 
church  service,  belts,  buckles  and  fragments  of  other 
military  equipments  fix  its  position  beyond  a reasonable 
doubt.  The  French  fort  was  placed  upon  the  site  of  the 
“sanded”  Indian  fort  already  described.  Both  French 
and  Indian  relics  are  found  here,  and  although  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  has  been  considerably  changed  by  the 
washing  of  the  sandy  soil  the  general  outlines  of  the  fort 


1 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  894. 


OUIATANON. 


331 


may  yet  be  distinguished  by  the  careful  observer.1  Post 
Ouiatanon  on  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  fort,  the  Ouiata- 
non  town  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wabash  river  and  a 
few  miles  lower  down,  and  Kethtippecanunk  several 
miles  above  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  river 
are  not  always  clearly  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
writers  on  early  western  history. 

The  description  of  the  fort  already  quoted  from  a 
Canadian  record,  the  description  to  be  given  later  on  by 
General  Scott  and  by  General  Wilkinson  are  accurate 
when  applied  to  the  fort  as  located  above,  but  will  not  ap- 
ply to  the  other  localities. 

The  first  French  Commandant  then  at  Ouiatanon  was 
Dubuisson,  but  he  was  soon  succeeded  by  Francois  Morgan, 
a nephew  of  the  Sieur  de  Vincennes,  already  mentioned, 
who  at  his  uncle’s  death,  succeeded  to  the  title.  Francois 
Morgan,  the  new  Sieur  de  Vincennes  remained  in  charge 
of  the  fort  for  several  years. 

At  this  time  the  French  ruled  their  possessions  in  the 
new  world  from  two  centers,  Canada  and  Louisiana. 
After  Francois  Morgan  had  succeeded  to  his  uncle’s  title, 
he  was  induced  by  a consideration  of  three  hundred  livres 
in  addition  to  his  salary  as  Lieutenant  on  half  pay,  to  trans- 
fer his  allegiance  from  the  Governor  of  Canada  to  the 
Governor  of  Louisiana.  Leaving  Ouiatanon  he  proceeded 
down  the  river  to  the  Indian  village  of  Chipkawkay,  and 
there  established  a military  garrison.  This  was  known 
for  a long  time  simply  as  the  Fort  on  the  Wabash.  It  is 
not  until  1752,  that  we  find  the  name  Vincennes  applied 
to  it.  This  fort  should  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
Fort  St.  Vincent  on  the  lower  Ohio,  established  by  Juc- 

*Many  French  and  Indian  relics  found  here  have  been  collected 
and  deposited  in  the  museum  of  Purdue  University  by  Mr.  Robert 
Hatcher,  of  Lafayette,  Ind. 


33  2 


OUIATANON. 


hereau,  in  1702,  and  disbanded  in  1704  by  Lambert,1  who 
had  succeeded  to  the  command  at  Juchereau’s  death.  The 
fact  that  the  lower  Ohio  was  frequently  called  the  Ouabache 
doubtless  led  to  the  error  of  considering  these  two  posts  as 
the  same. 

In  1736,  in  an  attempt  to  defeat  the  Chickasaws  and 
English,  the  noble  Commandant  Sieur  de  Vincennes  was 
killed.  The  French,  assisted  by  the  Illinois  Indians,  were 
unable  to  cope  with  the  combined  forces  of  English  and 
Chickasaws.  “Vincennes  died  nobly,  cheering  on  his 
men  and  urging  them  to  be  worthy  of  their  country  and  of 
their  religion.”2  After  Sieur  de  Vincennes  had  taken 
service  under  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  Ouiatanon  re- 
ceived other  French  garrisons  and  continued  to  be  one  of 
the  most  important  of  their  frontier  settlements.  Beau- 
harnois,  writing  to  Count  Maurepas  in  1731,  says:  “I 
have  continued  to  give  orders  to  the  commanding  officers 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Ouabache  to  be  on  the 
lookout  for  every  attempt  the  English  might  make  in  that 
quarter.”  And  again,  in  1732,  he  writes  : “I  have  had 
no  further  intelligence,  my  lord,  of  the  latter  having  at- 
tempted to  make  an  establishment  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  river  Ouabache.  The  or.der  I issued  some  years  ago 
and  which  I have  renewed  this  year,  will  have  apparently 
diverted  them  from  any  views  they  manifested  to  estab- 
lish themselves  there.”3 

In  1744  Beauharnois  wrote  : “On  receiving  intelligence, 
this  spring,  of  the  different  settlements  and  magazines  the 
English  have  formed  on  the  Beautiful  River,  I issued  my 
orders  and  sent  belts  to  the  Detroit  nations  to  drive  them 
thence  by  force  of  arms  and  to  plunder  the  stores  they  have 

1 Dunn.  Page,  39. 

2 Dillon’s  History  of  Indiana. 

3 N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.IX.  Page  1035. 


OTJIATANON.  333 

there.  I gave  like  orders  to  the  commandant  among  the 
Ouiatanons  and  the  Miamis.”1 

In  the  journal  of  important  events  in  Canada,  for  the 
year  1747,  it  is  recorded  that  Ensign  Chevalier  de  la  Pey- 
rade,  commandant  of  the  post  of  the  Ouiatanons,  writes 
from  Detroit  on  the  24th  of  August  “that  he  was  on  his 
way  down  to  Montreal  with  the  nations  from  the  Ouabache 
when  he  learned  in  the  Miami  river  of  the  treachery  of  the 
Hurons  ; that  this  intelligence,  conjointly  to  other  circum- 
stances, obliged  those  nations  to  return  to  their  village, 
where  they  were  pretty  quiet  when  he  left  them  to  come  to 
Detroit,  where  he  is  waiting  for  news  from  Niagara 
to  return  to  the  Ouiatanons  to  continue  his  service 
there.”2 

The  same  journal,  under  the  date  of  January  29,  1748, 
makes  the  following  statement,  after  saying  that  thirty 
Frenchmen  had  been  sent  from  Detroit  tcf  Ouiatanon  by 
Mr.  de  Longueuil,  the  commandant:  “That  as  some  of 
our  people  remain  among  the  Ouiatanons,  where  even 
some  families  are  settled,  he  did  not  consider  it  right  to 
abandon  countries  where  no  disorder  has  occurred  and 
where  great  disturbances  break  out  in  the  absence  of  as- 
sistance.”3 

In  a communication  to  M.  de  Rouill6,  dated  April  21, 
1751,  M.  de  Longeueuil,  commandant  at  Detroit,  says: 
“Mr.  de  Ligneris,  commandant  at  the  Ouiatanons,  be- 
lieves that  great  reliance  is  not  to  be  placed  on  the  Mas- 
couten’s,  and  that  their  remaining  neutral  is  all  that  is  to 
be  expected  from  them  and  the  Kiskapous  ; he  even  adds, 
we  are  not  to  reckon  on  the  nations  which  appear  in  our 
interests.  No  Ouiatanon  chief  has  appeared  at  the  post 


»N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  IX.  Page  1105. 

2N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  X.  Page  139. 

3N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  X.  Page  139. 


334 


OUIATANON. 


for  a long  time,  although  they  had  promised  to  inform  him 
of  all  that  they  knew.”1  * 

The  settlement  at  Ouiatanon  did  not  increase  as  much 
in  numbers  as  some  others  for  the  reason  that  the  com- 
mandants did  not  make  any  grants  of  land  to  settlers  as 
was  done  in  other  places.  There  is  the  record  of  a baptis- 
mal service  performed  in  1752.  The  certificate  was  found 
among  other  papers  in  the  Catholic  church  at  Vincennes. 
The  French  officer  in  charge  of  the  fort  was  usually  styled 
captain  of  infantry  and  commandant  for  the  king. 

When  in  1760,  at  the  surrender  of  Montreal,  Canada 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  it  was  also  agreed 
that  the  French  troops  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  posts 
in  the  Mississippi  valley.  British  officers  were  sent  to 
take  command.  Ouiatanon  thus  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  English,  and  the  double  cross  of  St.  Andrew  and  St. 
George  took  the  place  of  the  lilies  of  France. 

At  the  beginning  of  Pontiac’s  War,  Lieutenant  Jenkins, 
of  the  British  army,  had  charge  of  the  fort.  On  June  1, 
1763,  the  Indians  by  stratagem  took  the  place  and  made 
Lieutenant  Jenkins  and  his  men  prisoners.  It  had  been 
planned  to  massacre  the  entire  garrison,  but  through  the 
intervention  of  some  Frenchmen  who  lived  near  the  fort, 
their  lives  were  spared  and  they  were  well  treated. 

In  a letter  to  Gladwyn,  at  Detroit,  Lieut.  Jenkins  thus 
explains  the  situation  that  has  befallen  him. 

“Ouiatanon,  June  1,  1763. 

“Sir:  I have  heard  of  your  situation  which  gives,  me 
great  pain  ; indeed,  we  are  not  in  much  better,  for  this 
morning  the  Indians  sent  for  me  to  speak  to  me  and  im- 
mediately bound  me  when  I got  to  their  cabbin,  and  I 
soon  found  some  of  my  soldiers  in  the  same  situation. 
They  told  me  Detroit,  Miamis  and  all  of  them  posts  were. 


*N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  Yol.  X.  Page  246. 


OUIATANON. 


335 


cut  off,  and  that  it  was  folly  to  make  any  resistance  ; there- 
fore they  desired  me  to  make  the  few  soldiers  who  were  in 
the  fort  surrender,  otherwise  they  would  put  us  all  to 
death  in  case  a man  was  killed.  They  were  to  have  fell 
on  us  and  killed  us  all  last  night,  but  Mr.  Maisonville  and 
Lorain  gave  them  wampum  not  to  kill  us,  so  when  they 
told  the  interpreter  we  were  all  to  be  killed  and  he,  know- 
ing the  condition  of  the  fort  beg’d  of  them  to  make  us 
prisoners.  They  have  put  us  into  French  houses  and 
both  Indians  and  French  use  us  very  well.  All  these  na- 
tions say  they  are  very  sorry  but  that  they  were  obliged 
to  do  it  by  the  other  nations.  The  belt  did  not  arrive  here 
until  last  night  about  8 o’clock.  Mr.  Lorain  can  inform 
you  of  all.  Just  now  received  the  news  of  St.  Joseph’s 
being  taken  ; eleven  men  killed  and  three  taken  prisoner 
with  the  officer.  I have  nothing  more  to  say  but  that  I 
sincerely  wish  you  a speedy  succor,  and  that  we  may  be 
able  to  revenge  ourselves  on  those  that  deserve  it. 

“I  remain,  with  my  sincerest  wishes  for  your  safety, 

“Edward  Jenkins. 

“N.  B. — We  expect  to  set  off  in  a day  or  two  for  the 
Illinois.”1 

In  this  expectation  the  Lieutenant  was  disappointed,  for 
there  is  record  of  a letter  written  by  him  from  Ouiatanon 
the  last  of  the  next  month. 

In  a report  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  Governor  of  Can- 
ada, under  date  of  November  18,  1763,  he  states  that  the 
Kickapoos,  Mascoutens,  Pyankeshaws  and  Ouyatanons 
reside  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  post  at  Ouiatanon  and 
about  the  Wabash  river,  having  many  tribes  and  villages. 
In  a letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade  he  thus  describes  the 
ill-feeling  existing  between  the  English  and  the  French 
and  Indians.  “Several  French  families  of  the  worst  sort 


^arkman  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac.  Yol.  1.  Page  277. 


OUI AT. ANON. 


336 

live  at  the  Miamis  and  several  at  Ouiatanon,  and  in  short 
at  all  other  places  where  they  formerly  had  posts  or  trad- 
ing houses,  and  such  is  the  credulity  of  the  Indians  that 
although  they  may  find  themselves  repeatedly  deceived 
by  such  reports  they  will  still  give  them  credit  from  their 
blind  partiality  for  the  French.  The  possession  would  in 
some  measure,  but  not  absolutely  check  this  villainy.  I 
hope  that  Colonel  Croghan  is  far  advanced  on  the  way 
thither  the  last  account  I had  from  him  mentions  his  be- 
ing at  Fort  Pitt.”1 

The  deceptive  reports  referred  to  in  the  letter  had  ref- 
erence to  the  continuation  of  the  war  by  the  French. 
Colonel  Croghan  arrived  at  Fort  Ouiatanon,  but  not  ex- 
actly in  the  way  anticipated  by  Sir  William.  On  leaving 
Fort  Pitt,  he  passed  on  down  the  Ohio,  and  when  about 
six  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  was  captured 
and  taken  first  to  Vincennes  afterward  to  Ouiatanon.  Af- 
ter reaching  the  latter  place  he  was  set  at  liberty  and 
treated  with  great  respect.  0 

While  at  Ouiatanon  he  received  a message  from  the 
French  commandant,  St.  Auge,  who  still  held  the  garri- 
son at  Fort  Chartres,  the  English  not  having  up  to  this 
time  sent  a garrison  to  take  control.  In  response  to  this 
message  he  started  at  once  for  Fort  Chartres,  but  soon 
met  Pontiac,  who  with  a number  of  Indians  was  on  his 
way  to  Ouiatanon.  Together  they  returned  to  the  post, 
and  the  preliminary  treaty  looking  to  the  closing  of  Pon- 
tiac’s War  was  arranged. 

The  Colonel  in  speaking  of  Pontiac  says,  “ I made  it 
my  duty  to  converse  with  Pontiac  and  several  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  different  nations  as  often  as  opportunity  offered  in 
order  to  find  out  the  sentiment  they  have  of  the  French 
and  the  English.  Pontiac  is  a shrewd  sensible  Indian  of 


^.Y.  Col.  Doc.  VoLVII.  Page  716. 


OU I AT  AN  ON. 


337 

few  words,  and  commands  more  respect  among  these  na- 
tions, than  any  other  Indian  I ever  saw  could  amongst  his 
own  tribe.  He  and  all  his  principal  men  of  these  nations 
seem  at  present  to  be  convinced  that  the  French  had  a 
view  of  interest  in  stirring  up  the  late  differences  between 
his  majesty’s  subjects  and  them  and  call  it  a beaver  war, 
for  neither  Pontiac  nor  any  of  the  Indians  I met  with  ever 
pretend  to  deny  that  the  French  were  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole,  and  constantly  supplied  them  with  whatever  they 
needed  as  far  as  in  their  power,  everywhere  through  that 
country.  Notwithstanding  they  are  at  present  convinced 
that  it  was  for  their  own  interest,  yet  it  has  not  changed 
the  Indian’s  affection  to  them.  They  have  been  bred  up 
together  like  children  in  that  country,  and  the  French 
have  always  adopted  the  Indian  customs  and  manners, 
treated  them  civilly  and  supplied  their  wants  generally  by 
which  means  they  gained  the  hearts  of  the  Indians,  and 
commanded  their  services  and  enjoyed  a very  large  fur 
trade.”  1 

Much  the  same  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  relations  of 
the  French  and  Indians  had  been  expressed  in  a letter 
written  from  Ouiatanon  in  1763,  and  quoted  by  Parkman. 
“The  Canadians  here  are  eternally  telling  lies  to  the 
Indians  * * * One  La  Pointe,  told  the  Indians  a few 

days  ago  that  we  should  all  be  prisoners  in  a short  time 
(showing  when  the  corn  was  about  a foot  high),  that  there 
was  a great  army  to  come  from  the  Mississippi,  and  that 
they  were  to  have  a great  number  of  Indians  with  them  ; 
therefore  advised  them  not  to  help  us,  that  they  would  soon 
take  Detroit  and  these  small  posts,  and  then  they  would 
take  Quebec,  Montreal,  etc.,  and  go  into  our  country. 
This  I am  informed  they  tell  them  from  one  end  of  the 
year  to  the  other.  He  adds,  “that  the  Indians  will  rather 


1 Col.  Doc.  Yol.  VII.  Page  787. 


OUIATANON. 


338 

I 

give  six  beaver  skins  for  a blanket  to  a Frenchman  than 
three  to  an  Englishman.”1 

Colonel  Croghan,  while  at  Ouiatanon,  described  it  as 
follows  : “The  distance  from  Post  Vincent  to  Ouiatanon 
is  two  hundred  and  ten  miles.  This  place  is  situated  on 
the  Wabash.  About  fourteen  French  families  are  living 
in  the  fort,  which  stands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river. 
The  Kickapoos  and  Musquattimes,  whose  warriors  had 
taken  us,  live  nigh  the  fort  on  the  same  side  of  the  river, 
where  they  have  two  villages,  and  the  Ouiatanons  have  a 
village  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  The  country  here- 
about is  exceedingly  pleasant,  being  open  and  clear  for 
many  miles.  The  soil  is  very  rich  and  well  watered. 
All  plants  have  a quick  vegetation  and  the  climate  is  very 
temperate.  This  post  has  always  been  a considerable 
trading  place.  The  great  quantity  of  furs  taken  in  the 
country  induced  the  French  to  establish  this  post,  which 
was  the  first  on  the  Wabash,  and  by  a very  advantageous 
trade  they  have  been  nobly  recompensed  for  their  labor.”2 

From  the  post  Colonel  Croghan  passed  on  through  the 
Indian  tribes  to  Detroit,  and  there  the  permanent  treaty 
was  signed  with  Pontiac,  the  preliminaries  of  which  had 
already  been  arranged  at  Ouiatanon. 

In  Hutchin’s  Topographical  Description  the  following 
occurs:  “Ouiatanon  is  a small  stockaded  fort  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Wabash,  in  which  about  a dozen  fami- 
lies reside.  The  neighboring  Indians  are  the  Kickapoos, 
Pyankeshaws  and  the  principal  part  of  the  Ouiatanons. 
The  whole  of  these  tribes  amount,  it  is  supposed,  to  about 
one  thousand  warriors.  The  fertility  of  soil  and  diversity 
of  timber  in  this  country  are  about  the  same  as  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Vincient.  The  annual  amount  of  skins 
and  furs  obtained  at  Ouiatanon  is  about  £8,000.  By  the 


1 Parkman’s  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 

2 Croghan’s  Journal,  Hist,  of  Ky.  Butler. 


OUIATANON. 


339 

river  Wabash  the  inhabitants  of  Detroit  move  to  the  south- 
ern parts  of  Ohio  and  the  Illinois  country.  This  route  is 
by  the  Miami  river  to  a carrying  place,  which,  as  before 
stated,  is  nine  miles  to  the  Wabash,  when  the  river  is 
raised  with  freshes.” 

In  a review  of  the  state  of  trade  and  Indian  affairs  in 
1767,  Sir  William  Johnson,  Governor  of  Canada,  states 
that  Ouiatanon  in  one  of  the  desirable  trading  posts  of  the 
West  and  that  he  contemplates  putting  a garrison  there. 
There  had  been  no  garrison  since  Pontiac’s  War  and  the 
capture  of  Lieutenant  Jenkins.  The  place  now  began  to 
be  distinguished  more  as  an  Indian  rendezvous  than  as  a 
trading  point,  although  white  families  continued  to  reside 
here  and  the  amount  of  trade  was  considerable.  Lieut. 
Gov.  Abbot,  in  a report  dated  1777,  says  : “The  Wabash 
is  perhaps  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  world.  On  its 
banks  are  several  Indian  towns,  the  most  considerable  of 
which  is  Ouiatanon,  where  it  is  said  there  are  a thousand 
men  capable  to  bear  arms.  I found  them  so  numerous  and 
so  needy  that  I could  not  pass  without  great  expense.  The 
presents  though  very  large  were  in  a manner  despised. 
They  said  their  ancient  French  father  never  spake  to  them 
without  a barnful  of  goods.” 

In  1785  there  was  a big  powwow  at  the  post.  At  this 
meeting  the  Indians  decided  to  stop  the  advance  of  the 
whites  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  The  result  was  that 
in  attempting  to  carry  out  their  design  a few  whites  were 
killed  and  a general  Indian  war  became  imminent.  This 
was  prevented,  however,  by  the  movements  of  Captain 
Logan  and  Colonel  Clark. 

Antoine  Gamelin  was  sent  from  Vincennes  in  April, 
1790,  to  convey  messages  to  the  Indians  on  the  Wabash. 
It  was  his  object  to  dissuade  them  from  war  and  to  encour- 


34° 


OUI AT  ANON. 


age  peaceful  relations.  After  he  had  made  his  talk  at 
Fort  Ouiatanon,  a chief  replied,  “Know  ye  that  the  vil- 
lage of  Ouiatanon  is  the  sepulcher  of  all  our  ancestors. 
The  chief  of  America  invites  us  to  go  to  him  if  we  are  for 
peace.  He  has  not  his  leg  broken  being  able  to  travel  as 
far  as  the  Illinois.  He  might  have  come  here  himself,  and 
we  would  be  glad  to  see  him  at  our  village.  We  confess 
that  we  accepted  the  ax,  but  it  is  by  the  reproach  that  we 
continually  receive  from  the  English  and  other  nations  that 
received  the  ax  at  first,  calling  us  women.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  they  invite  our  young  men  to  war.  As  to  the 
°ld  men  they  are  wishing  for  peace.”1  The  Indians  re- 
fused to  give  Gamelin  any  positive  answer  until  they  had 
consulted  with  their  kinsmen,  the  Miamis.  From  Ouiata- 
non he  passed  on  to  the  Miamis  and  other  tribes,  but  his 
efforts  were  in  vain,  for  the  Indians  continued  to  be  hos- 
tile and  to  commit  depredations  on  the  exposed  settle- 
ments near  the  Ohio.  An  expedition  was  planned  against 
them  and  put  under  General  Scott,  with  the  following  as  a 
part  of  his  instructions  : “The  mounted  volunteers  are  to 
proceed  to  the  Wea  or  Ouiatanon  towns  of  Indiana,  there 
to  assault  the  said  towns  and  the  Indians  therein  either  by 
surprise  or  otherwise,  as  the  nature  of  circumstances  may 
admit — sparing  all  who  may  cease  to  resist,  and  capturing 
as  many  as  possible,  especially  women  and  children.  And 
on  this  point  it  is  the  positive  orders  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  that  all  such  captives  be  treated  with 
humanity  and  that  they  be  carried  and  delivered  to  the 
commanding  officer  of  some  post  of  the  United  States  on 
the  Ohio.” 

Pursuant  to  his  instructions,  General  Scott,  with  his  eight 
hundred  mounted  men,  crossed  the  Ohio  and  marched  to- 
wards Ouiatanon.  On  the  first  day  of  June  he  reached  the 


‘Dillon’s  Indiana.  Page  228. 


OUIATANON. 


341 


villages  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wabash.  In  his  official 
report,  after  describing  the  march  from  the  Ohio  and  his 
approach  to  the  scene  of  action,  he  says  : ‘ ‘On  the  morn- 

ing of  the  first  instant,  as  the  army  entered  an  extensive 
prairie,  I perceived  an  Indian  on  horseback  a few  miles  to 
my  right.  I immediately  made  a detachment  to  intercept 
him  ; but  he  escaped.  Finding  myself  discovered,  I de- 
termined to  advance  with  all  the  rapidity  my  circumstances 
would  permit,  rather  with  the  hope  than  the  expectation  of 
reaching  the  object  sought  that  day  ; for  my  guides  were 
strangers  to  the  country  which  I occupied.  At  one  o’clock, 
having  marched  by  computation  one  hundred  and  fifty- five 
miles  from  the  Ohio,  as  I penetrated  a grove  which  bor- 
dered on  an  extensive  prairie  I discovered  two  small 
villages  to  my  left  at  two  and  four  miles  distance. 

“My  guides  now  recognized  the  ground  and  informed 
me  that  the  main  town  was  four  or  five  miles  in  my  front 
behind  a point  of  woods  which  jutted  into  the  prairie.  I 
immediately  detached  Colonel  John  Hardin  with  sixty 
mounted  infantry,  and  a troop  of  light  horse  under  Captain 
McCoy,  to  attack  the  villages  on  the  left,  and  moved  on 
briskly  with  my  main  body  in  order  of  battle  toward  the 
town,  the  smoke  of  which  was  discernable.  My  guides 
were  deceived  with  respect  to  the  situation  of  the  town  ; 
for  instead  of  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  plain  through 
which  I marched  I found  it  on  the  low  ground  bordering 
on  the  Wabash.  On  turning  the  point  of  woods  one  house 
presented  in  my  front.  Captain  Price  was  ordered  to  as- 
sault that  with  forty  men.  He  executed  the  command  with 
great  gallantry  and  killed  two  warriors. 

“When  I gained  the  summit  of  the  eminence  which  over- 
looks the  villages  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  I discovered 
the  enemy  in  great  confusion  endeavoring  to  make  their 
escape  over  the  river  in  canoes.  I instantly  ordered  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Commandant  Wilkinson  to  rush  forward 


342  OUIATANON. 

with  the  first  battalion.  The  order  was  executed  with 
promptitude,  and  this  detachment  gained  the  bank  of  the 
river  just  as  the  rear  of  the  enemy  had  embarked,  and, 
regardless  of  a brisk  fire  kept  up  by  a Kickapoo  town  on 
the  opposite  bank,  they,  in  a few  minutes,  by  a well  directed 
fire  from  their  rifles,  destroyed  all  the  savages  with  which 
five  canoes  were  crowded.  To  my  great  mortification  the 
Wabash  was  many  feet  beyond  fording  at  this  place.  I 
therefore  detached  Colonel  Wilkinson  to  a ford  two  miles 
above  which  my  guide  informed  me  was  more  practicable. 

“The  enemy  still  kept  possession  of  the  Kickapoo  town. 
I determined  to  dislodge  them ; and  for  that  purpose  or- 
dered Captain  King’s  and  Logsdon’s  companies  to  march 
down  the  river  below  the  town  and  cross  under  the  conduct 
of  Major  Barbee.  Several  of  the  men  swam  the  river  and 
others  passed  in  a small  canoe.  This  movement  was  un- 
observed and  my  men  had  taken  post  on  the  bank  before 
they  were  discovered  by  the  enemy  who  immediately 
abandoned  the  village.  About  this  time  word  was  brought 
me  that  Colonel  Hardin  was  encumbered  with  prisoners 
and  had  discovered  a stronger  village  further  to  my  left 
than  those  I had  observed,  which  he  was  proceeding  to 
attack.  I immediately  detached  Captain  Brown  with  his 
company  to  support  the  colonel ; but  the  distance  being 
six  miles,  before  the  captain  arrived  the  business  was  done, 
and  Colonel  Hardin  joined  me  a little  before  sunset,  hav- 
ing killed  six  warriors  and  taken  fifty-two  prisoners.  Cap- 
tain Bull,  the  warrior  who  discovered  me  in  the  morning, 
had  gained  the  main  town  and  given  the  alarm  a short 
time  before  me  ; but  the  villages  to  my  left  were  unin- 
formed of  my  approach  and  had  no  retreat. 

“The  next  morning  I determined  to  dispatch  my  lieu- 
tenant-colonel commandant  with  five  hundred  men  to  de- 
stroy the  important  town  of  Keth-tip-e-ca-nunk,  eighteen 
miles  from  my  camp,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wabash  ; 


OUIATANON. 


343 


but  on  examination  I found  my  men  and  horses  to  be  so 
crippled  and  worn  down  by  a long  and  laborious  march 
and  the  active  exertions  of  the  preceding  day  that  three 
hundred  and  sixty  men  only  could  be  found  in  a capacity 
to  undertake  the  enterprise,  and  they  prepared  to  march 
on  foot.  Colonel  Wilkinson  marched  with  this  detach- 
ment at  half  past  five  in  the  evening  and  returned  to  my 
camp  the  next  day  at  one  o’clock,  having  marched  thirty- 
six  miles  in  twelve  hours,  and  destroyed  the  most  important 
settlement  of  the  enemy  in  that  part  of  the  federal  territory. 

“Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  village  were  French, 
and  lived  in  a state  of  civilization.  By  the  books;  letters 
and  other  documents  found  there,  it  is  evident  that  place 
is  in  close  connection  with,  and  dependent  on,  Detroit.  A 
large  quantity  of  corn,  a variety  of  household  goods,  pel- 
try and  other  articles  were  burned  with  this  village,  which 
consisted  of  about  seventy  houses,  many  of  them  well 
finished. 

“Misunderstanding  the  object  of  a white  flag  which  ap- 
peared on  an  eminence  opposite  to  me  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  first,  I liberated  an  aged  squaw  and  sent  her  with  a 
message  to  the  savages,  that  if  they  would  come  in  and 
surrender  their  towns  would  be  spared  and  they  should  re- 
ceive good  treatment.  It  was  afterwards  found  that  this 
flag  was  not  intended  as  a signal  of  parley,  but  was  placed 
there  to  mark  the  spot  where  a person  of  distinction  among 
the  Indians,  who  had  died  sometime  before,  was  interred. 

“On  the  fourth,  I determined  to  discharge  sixteen  of 
the  weakest  and  most  infirm  of  my  prisoners  with  a talk 
(written)  to  the  Wabash  tribes.  My  motives  to  this  meas- 
ure were  to  rid  the  army  of  a heavy  incumbrance,  to  gratify 
the  impulses  of  humanity,  to  increase  the  panic  my  opera- 
tions had  produced,  and,  by  distracting  the  councils  of  the 
enemy,  to  favor  the  views  of  government ; and  I flatter  my- 
self these  objects  will  justify  my  conduct  and  secure  the  ap- 


344 


OUIATANON. 


probation  of  my  country.  On  the  same  day,  after  having 
burned  the  town  and  adjacent  villages,  and  destroyed  the 
growing  corn  and  pulse,  I began  my  march  for  the  rapids 
of  the  Ohio,  where  I arrived  on  the  fourteenth  of  June, 
without  the  loss  of  a single  man  by  the  enemy  and  five  only 
wounded  ; having  killed  thirty-two,  chiefly  warriors  of  size 
and  figure,  and  taken  fifty-eight  prisoners. 

“It  is  with  pride  and  pleasure  I mention  that  no  act  of  in- 
humanity has  marked  the  conduct  of  the  volunteers  of 
Kentucky  on  this  occasion.  Even  the  inveterate  habit 
of  scalping  the  dead  has  ceased  to  influence.  I have  de- 
livered forty-one  prisoners  to  Captain  Ashton,  of  the  First 
United  States  regiment  at  Fort  Steuben,  for  which  I have 
his  receipt.  I sincerely  lament  that  the  weather  and  the 
consequences  produced  by  it  rendered  it  impossible  for  me 
to  carry  terror  and  desolation  to  the  head  of  the  Wabash. 
The  corps  I had  the  honor  to  command  was  equal  to  the 
object ; but  the  condition  of  my  horses  and  state  of  my 
provisions  were  insuperable  obstacles  to  my  own  inten- 
tions and  the  wishes  of  all.”1 

The  address  sent  to  the  tribes  by  the  released  prisoners 
was  as  follows  : 

4 4 To  the  various  tribes  of  the  Piankeshaws  and  all  the  nations 
of  Red  People  lying  on  the  waters  of  the  Wabash : 

“The  sovereign  council  of  the  thirteen  United  States 
have  long  patiently  borne  your  depredations  against  their 
settlements  on  the  side  of  the  great  mountains  in  the  hope 
that  you  would  see  your  error  and  correct  it  by  entering 
with  them  into  the  bonds  of  amity  and  lasting  peace. 
Moved  by  compassion  and  pitying  your  misguided  coun- 
cils, they  have  frequently  addressed  you  on  this  subject, 
but  without  effect.  At  length  their  patience  is  exhausted 
and  they  have  stretched  forth  the  arm  of  power  against 


hA-merican  State  Papers. 


OUIATANON. 


345 

you.  Their  mighty  sons  and  chief  warriors  have  at  length 
taken  up  the  hatchet.  They  have  penetrated  far  into  your 
country  to  meet  your  warriors  and  punish  them  for  their  later 
transgressions  ; but  you  have  fled  before  them  and  declined 
the  battle,  leaving  your  wives  and  children  to  their  mercy. 
They  have  destroyed  your  old  town  Ouiatanon,  and  the 
neighboring  villages  and  have  taken  many  prisoners. 
Resting  here  two  days  to  give  you  time  to  collect  your 
strength,  they  have  proceeded  to  your  town  of  Keth-tip- 
pe-ca-nunk ; but  you  again  fled  before  them  and  that 
great  town  has  been  destroyed.  After  giving  you  this 
evidence  of  their  power,  they  have  stopped  their  hands, 
because  they  are  merciful  as  strong  ; and  they  again  in- 
dulge the  hope  that  you  will  come  to  a sense  of  your  true 
interests  and  determine  to  make  a lasting  peace  with  them 
and  all  their  children  forever. 

“The  United  States  have  no  desire  to  destroy  the  red 
people,  although  they  have  the  power ; but  should  you 
decline  this  invitation  and  pursue  your  unprovoked  hos- 
tilities their  strength  will  again  be  exerted  against  you. 
Your  warriors  will  be  slaughtered,  your  towns  and  vil- 
lages ransacked  and  destroyed  ; your  wives  and  children 
carried  into  captivity,  and  you  may  be  assured  that  those 
who  escape  the  fury  of  our  mighty  chiefs  shall  find  no 
resting  place  on  this  side  of  the  great  lakes.  The  warriors 
of  the  United  States  wish  not  to  distress  or  destroy  women 
and  children  or  old  men ; and  though  policy  obliges  them 
to  retain  some  in  captivity,  yet  compassion  and  humanity 
have  induced  them  to  set  others  at  liberty,  who  will  deliver 
you  this  talk.  Those  who  are  carried  off  will  be  left  in  the 
care  of  our  great  chief  and  warrior,  General  St.  Clair, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  and  opposite  the  Licking 
river,  where  they  will  be  treated  with  humanity  and  ten- 
derness. If  you  wish  to  recover  them  repair  to  that  place 
by  the  first  day  of  July  next,  determined  with  true  hearts 


OUIATANON. 


346 

to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace.  They 
will  then  be  restored  to  you,  and  you  may  again  sit  down 
in  security,  at  your  old  towns,  and  live  in  peace  and  happi- 
ness, unmolested  by  the  children  of  the  United  States, 
who  will  become  your  friends  and  protectors,  and  will  be 
ready  to  furnish  you  with  all  the  necessaries  you  may  re- 
quire ; but  should  you  foolishly  persist  in  your  warfare, 
the  sons  of  war  will  be  let  loose  against  you  and  the 
hatchet  will  never  be  buried  until  your  country  is  deso- 
lated and  your  people  humbled  to  the  dust. 

“Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  the  OuiatanonTown, 
this  4th  day  of  June,  I79I* 

“Charles  Scott,  Brigadier  Generali n 

The  official  report  and  address  have  been  quoted  at 
some  length  in  order  to  throw  light  on  one  usually  mis- 
understood point.  The  principal  village  destroyed,  the 
one  containing  the  seventy  houses,  well  finished,  was  not 
the  original  Ouiatanon  town,  as  stated  by  Dillon  and 
others,  but  the  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  and 
called  Keth-tip-pe-ca-nunk. 

In  the  report  this  is  mentioned  as  “the  most  important 
settlement  of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter  of  the  federal  ter- 
ritory.” In  the  address  it  is  styled  the  “great  town,” 
while  the  one  destroyed  by  Scott  is  mentioned  as  the  Old 
Town  Ouiatanon. 

It  will  also  be  noticed  that  he  speaks  of  destroying  the 
towns  near  Post  Ouiatanon  on  the  fourth,  the  next  day 
after  Wilkinson’s  return.  The  fact  that  Keth-tip-pe-ca- 
nunk  is  sometimes  called  Upper  Ouiatanon  has  probably 
led  Dillon  and  others  into  this  error. 

The  first  of  August  of  the  same  year  General  Wilkinson 
made  a second  expedition  into  this  Wabash  country.  Start- 
ing from  Fort  Washington  he  directed  his  course  so  as  to 


American  State  Papers. 


OUIATANON. 


347 

strike  the  Wabash  at  the  mouth  of  Eel  river.  He  crossed 
the  river  and  destroyed  an  Indian  town  named  Kena-pa- 
com-a-qua,  a few  miles  from  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers, 
then  directed  his  course  to  Keth-tip-pe-ca-nunk.  Here  he 
destroyed  what  little  had  been  made  in  the  way  of  im- 
provement since  his  visit  in  June,  and  then  marched 
to  Ouiatanon,  forded  the  river,  destroyed  whatever  of 
crops  were  to  be  found,  and  returned  to  the  Ohio. 

In  his  report,  after  detailing  the  circumstances  of  the 
march,  he  says  : “I  have  destroyed  the  chief  town  of  the 
Ouiatanon  nation  and  made  prisoners  of  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  king.  I have,  burned  a respectable 
Kickapoo  village  and  cut  down  at  least  four  hundred  and 
thirty  acres  of  corn,  chiefly  in  the  milk.  The  Ouiatanons, 
left  without  houses  or  provisions,  must  cease  to  war,  and 
will  find  active  employment  to  subsist  their  squaws  and 
children  during  the  impending  winter.”1 

After  this  fearful  scourging  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
Post  Ouiatanon  seems  enveloped  in  mystery.  The  French 
families  took  their  departure  and  attached  themselves  to 
other  settlements.  Keth-tip-pe-ca-nunk,  before  long,  be- 
comes the  general  meeting  place  of  the  Indians.  It 
is  here  that  the  Prophet  locates  in  1808,  and  soon  the  name 
is  changed  to  Prophetstown.  This  was  the  objective  point, 
when,  in  181 1,  Harrison’s  campaign  against  the  Indians 
terminated  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  The  high  bluffs 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  and  a little  above  the  old  fort 
still  remain.  From  this  eminence  General  Scott  beheld 
the  fort,  the  Indian  towns  on  the  left  and  farther  down  the 
river  and  the  Kickapoo  town  almost  opposite. 

Doubtless  the  white  flag  he  saw  was  near  the  ruins  of 
the  fort,  for,  as  was  their  custom,  both  French  and  Indians 
had  used  a part  of  this  elevation  as  a burial  ground. 


‘American  State  Papers. 


OUIATANON. 


348 

The  chance  visitor  to  the  old  fort  will  no  longer  see  the 
canoe  crossing  the  river  nor  any  of  the  varied  scenes  of 
Indian  town  and  trading  settlement.  The  outlook  is  upon 
fertile  valleys  and  cultivated  uplands.  In  place  of  the  war- 
rior going  forth  to  the  hunt,  or  the  trader  with  canoe  well 
laden  with  peltry,  will  be  seen  the  busy  farmer  in  the  fields, 
or  the  quiet  fisher  angling  for  the  finny  denizens  of  the 
water  that  still  abound  in  the  Wabash  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Wea. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 


Volume  il 


Number  9. 


REMINISCENCES 

OF  A 

JOURNEY  TO  INDIANAPOLIS  IN  THE  YEAR  1836 


BY 

JUDGE  C.  P.  FERGUSON 


Life  of  Ziba  Foote 

> 

BY 

SAMUEL  MORRISON 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 
1893. 


REMINISCENCES. 


At  the  August  election,  in  the  year  1836,  my  father  had 
been  elected  a Representative  for  the  county  of  Clark. 
Although  I was  quite  a small  boy , he  was  seized  with  a desire 
to  take  me  to  Indianapolis  to  stay  with  him  during  the  ap- 
proaching session  of  the  General  Assembly,  but  how  to 
get  me  there  was  the  question.  The  Legislature  was  to 
meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  December.  Judge  Dewey, 
who  lived  at  Charlestown,  was  one  of  the  supreme  judges, 
and  would  have  to  be  present  at  the  term  commencing  on 
the  fourth  Monday  of  November.  So  it  was  arranged  be- 
tween them  that  the  judge  should  take  me  in  charge  and 
go  by  steamboat  to  Madison  and  then  by  stage  to  Indian- 
apolis, and  a week  later  my  father  would  take  the  judge’s 
horse  and  go  through  on  horse-back,  a three  days’  jour- 
ney. The  programme  was  carried  out,  and  the  judge  and 
myself  took  passage  on  the  steam-boat  Rochester,  at  the 
Charlestown  landing.  As  soon  as  he  stepped  upon  the 
boat  the  judge  made  an  inquiry  and  then  shouted  to  my 
father,  who  stood  upon  the  bank,  that  Pennsylvania  had 
gone  for  Van  Buren.  This  settled  the  question  as  to  the 
presidental  election,  and  their  hearts  were  broken,  for  they 
were  both  stalwart  Whigs,  and  I,  too,  was  very  sorry,  for 
I had  hoped  for  the  election  of  the  old  general  who  had 
been  at  our  house  the  year  before  and  carried  off  my  pet 
terrier  dog. 

On  the  boat  the  judge  met  several  friends,  among  whom 
was  Randall  Crawford,  a great  lawyer  and  father  of  the 
now  distinguished  Harry,  who  was  also  on  his  way  to  In- 
dianapolis. At  Madison,  we  three  took  lodgings  at  Pugh’s 
Hotel  and  occupied  the  same  room.  Next  morning,  be- 

(350 


352 


REMINISCENCES. 


fore  it  was  light,  the  stage  drove  up  to  the  door  and  we 
got  in,  after  which  the  driver  picked  up  a few  passengers 
at  private  residences,  one  of  whom,  upon  entering,  was 
addressed  as  judge,  and  I got  to  learn  that  he  was  Stephen 
C.  Stevens,  who  had  been  a supreme  judge,  and,  having 
resigned,  Judge  Dewey  had  been  appointed  to  fill  his 
place. 

From  Madison  to  Columbus  made  one  day’s  journey, 
and  there  we  expected  to  meet  an  Indianapolis  stage,  that 
would  take  us  on.  We  passed  the  night  at  the  Jones  hotel, 
and  the  Indianapolis  stage  failing  to  meet  us,  a private 
conveyance  was  provided — a common  farm  wagon — and 
in  that  way  we  were  sent  on  to  Franklin.  At  Franklin,  late 
in  the  next  morning,  the  stage  was  on  hand  ready  to  take 
us  on.  It  was  not  a coach,  but  a large  covered  spring 
wagon,  drawn  by  four  horses.  Getting  so  late  a start,  we 
trudged  the  balance  of  the  day  and  into  the  night  through 
mud  and  chuck-holes  and  over  corduroy  roads.  The  dis- 
tinguished passengers  talked  a good  deal,  and  to-day  I re- 
member some  things  they  said.  I know  in  one  of  their 
discussions  one  of  them  said  the  most  burning  epithet  one 
man  can  apply  to  another  is  to  call  him  a fool.  This 
observation  I never  forgot,  and  it  came  vividly  before  my 
mind  when  I read  of  Gen.  Butler’s  famous  saying,  “that 
among  all  the  mean  things  which  had  been  said  of  him,  no 
man  had  ever  called  him  a fool.” 

A little  after  dark  on  this  last  day’s  journey,  while 
perched  upon  my  seat  drowsy  and  worn  out,  Mr.  Crawford 
aroused  me  and  said,  in  his  peculiar  tone  of  voice,  which 
those  who  knew  him  will  recollect,  “ Now  you  can  see  the 
lights  of  Inj^z/zapolis,”  and  shortly  afterwards  we  were  in 
the  town.  What  a contrast  with  the  present ! There 
were  no  brilliant  lights,  no  jingling  of  bells  and  shrieking 
of  whistles  ; no  yelling  of  the  names  of  different  hotels, 
but  in  darkness  and  in  quiet  the  stage  drew  up  in  front  of 


REMINISCENCES . 


353 


the  Mansion  House,  kept  by  Basil  Brown,  and  there 
emerged  therefrom  and  entered  the  hotel,  cold  and  tired, 
a supreme  judge,  an  ex-supreme  judge,  a great  lawyer, 
and  a little  country  boy. 

Next  morning,  after  breakfast,  I started  out  to  find 
William  Sheets  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  my  father 
had  given  me  a letter.  I found  Mr.  Sheets  at  his  resi- 
dence, a new  and  beautiful  brick  cottage,  fine  and  spa- 
cious, which  stood  upon  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the 
Denison  House.  At  that  time  there  were  two  small  chil- 
dren in  the  family.  I remember  Mrs.  Sheets  as  an  af- 
fectionate, sweet-faced  mother,  and  an  accomplished  lady, 
and  certainly  during  my  stay  in  the  family  she  did  all  she 
could  to  supply  the  place  of  a mother  to  me.  She  had  a 
piano  and  a bound  volume  of  music.  I noticed  on  the 
outside  of  the  music-book  the  printed  name  of  Mary  Ran- 
dolph, but  I did  not  know  until  many  years  afterwards  that 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Randolph,  the  bosom 
friend  of  Gen.  W.  H.  Harrison,  when  he  was  Governor, 
and  who  was  slain  at  Tippecanoe. 

I was  not  long  in  discovering  that  Mr.  Sheets  himself 
was  on  the  ragged  edge.  His  term  as  secretary  was  about 
expiring  and  he  was  a candidate  for  re-election  by  the  Leg- 
islature, and  I gathered  from  the  family  talk  that  the  can- 
didate of  whom  he  had  the  most  fear  was  a man  by  the 
name  of  Brown,  nor  were  his  fears  groundless,  for  when 
the  election  came  off  William  J.  Brown  was  elected.  I 
have  heard  it  stated  that  this  was  the  first  lift  given  to  Mr. 
Brown,  who  afterwards  became  so  prominent  in  both  state 
and  national  politics. 

During  my  stay  the  family  was  visited  for  a few  days  by 
a courtly  old  gentleman  whom  they  called  General  Dill. 
This  is  a name  almost  unknown  to  the  present  generation, 
but  the  student  of  Indiana  history  will  find  that  General 
James  Dill  figured  prominently  in  the  early  days  of  the 


354 


REMINISCENCES. 


territory  and  state  and,  if  I have  not  been  misinformed, 
his  wife  was  the  daughter  of  General  Arthur  St.  Clair. 

My  father  having  arrived,  he  took  me  to  the  Mansion 
House  to  room  with  himself.  He  permitted  me  to  go  with 
him  to  the  state-house  on  the  morning  of  the  organization 
of  the  House.  I witnessed  the  ballotings  for  speaker  and 
was  told  that  the  name  of  the  man  elected  wras  Caleb  B. 
Smith.  I remember  the  speaker  as  a handsome,  trimly- 
built  man,  hardly  of  middle  age,  well-dressed  with  black 
broadcloth  and  I think  he  had  black  hair.  He  did  not 
use  a gavel,  but  a flat  ruler  was  always  on  his  desk. 
Upon  taking  his  seat  he  would  rap  with  his  ruler  and  then 
announce  “the  houthe  will  -pleathe  come  to  order.”  Here 
I will  digress  to  say  that  it  was  probably  twenty  years  after 
Mr.  Smith  was  speaker  before  I saw  him  again  when  he 
made  his  appearance  in  court  at  Charlestown  in  connection 
with  a suit  brought  to  destroy  the  charter  of  the  old  Ft.Wayne 
and  Southern  Railroad  Company.  Time  had  made  its  rav- 
ages. Instead  of  a trim,  well-dressed  man  with  a head 
well  covered  with  hair  I faced  a gentleman  inclined  to 
corpulency,  careless  in  dress,  with  scattering  grey  hair. 
But  the  lisping  tongue  was  still  there  as  was  evident  in  a 
political  speech  he  was  induced  to  make  in  which  he  com- 
pared Judge  Douglass  to  Baalam’s  ass,  several  times, 
much  to  the  merriment  of  his  hearers,  coming  over  the 
expression,  “am  I not  thine  athe ?” 

I have  a distinct  recollection  of  the  features  and  appear- 
ance of  many  members  of  the  House  over  which  Mr. 
Smith  presided,  often  carrying  messages  and  doing  little 
errands  for  them  without  pay  other  than  the  privilege  of 
being  in  the  hall  and  on  the  floor  when  I pleased,  and  this 
privilege  was  given  me  by  old  Jim  Fislar,  the  door-keeper. 

Joseph  G.  Marshall  was  one  of  the  lions  of  the  House,  so 
was  Thomas  J.  Evans,  a strong  leader  on  the  internal  im- 
provement side,  not  much  heard  of  afterwards  because  he 


REMINISCENCES. 


355 


did  not  live  many  years.  William  T.  J.  Jones,  a very  active 
and  brilliant  man,  was  there  from  Evansville,  but  he  died 
a few  years  afterwards.  Robert  Dale  Owen  and  George 
H.  Proffit  sat  near  each  other.  How  many  of  the  rising 
politicians  of  the  last  Legislature  do  you  suppose  ever 
heard  of  George  H. ‘Proffit?  Yet  he  was  regarded  as  a 
very  brilliant  man  in  his  day,  and  he  and  Mr.  Owen  had 
it  up  and  down  in  the  first  district  for  many  years,  some- 
times one  and  sometimes  the  other  going  to  Congress. 
When  he  and  Henry  A.  Wise  “ Tylerized,”  George  D. 
Prentice  had  this  to  say  of  them:  “Wise  is  a fool  and 
Proffit  is  likewise.”  Mr.  Tyler  gave  Mr.  Proffit  a foreign 
mission,  at  the  expiration  of  which  it  is  said  he  removed 
to  Louisville,  where  he  died. 

On  going  to  my  father’s  room  one  night  I found  him  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  a large  and  rough-looking 
man,  who  left  the  room  soon  after  I entered.  I was  told 
the  gentleman’s  name  was  Smith  and  he  wanted  my  father 
to  vote  for  him  for  United  States  Senator,  but  he  could  not 
do  so  because  he  had  promised  to  vote  for  Gov.  Noble. 
My  father  kept  his  promise  and  voted  nine  times  for  Gov. 
Noble,  and  on  the  ninth  ballot  Oliver  H.  Smith  was 
elected. 

David  Wallace  was  Lieutenant-Governor,  a small  man 
with  black  hair  and  flashing  black  eyes.  He  was  a wid- 
ower, but  during  my  stay  at  the  Mansion  House  he  got 
married  and  brought  his  young  wife  to  the  hotel  to  board, 
where  I often  saw  them  at  the  table.  The  present,  well- 
known  and  beloved  Mrs.  Wallace  is  often  spoken  of  as  the 
mother  of  Gen.  Lew  Wallace.  This  is  a mistake  ; she  is 
his  step-mother,  but,  no  doubt,  she  gave  to  him  all  the 
careful  and  affectionate  training  it  was  possible  for  her  to 
give,  the  same  as  if  he  had  been  her  own  son. 

Across  the  hall  from  our  room  was  the  room  of  a young 
lawyer  to  whom  I became  greatly  attached.  He  flattered 


REMINISCENCES. 


356 

me  with  little  attentions  and  sometimes  would  invite  me  to 
his  room,  where  his  room-mate  had  a guitar.  He  told  me 
his  name  was  Otto,  and  I understood  he  had  some  clerical 
employment  under  Gov.  Noble.  Many  times  after  I re- 
turned home  I thought  of  the  handsome  stranger  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  me,  and  wondered  if  I should  ever  see  him 
again.  After  seven  years  rolled  away  we  did  come  to- 
gether again  in  the  closest  relations  of  friendship,  which 
have  existed  ever  since.  He  removed  to  Brownstown, 
served  one  session  as  principal  secretary  of  the  Senate, 
and  then  was  elected  judge  of  a large  circuit,  including  my 
own  county,  when  he  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  It 
has  always  been  conceded  that  he  was  the  most  learned 
and  accomplished  judge  that  ever  presided  in  that  circuit. 
He  removed  to  Washington  city  to  become  assistant  sec- 
retary of  the  interior,  and  afterwards  became  official  re- 
porter of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

I was  permitted  to  go  to  school  a short  time  at  the  old 
Marion  county  seminary,  of  which  Mr.  Sullivan  was 
principal,  but  I was  a stranger  and  made  few  acquaint- 
ances. One  boy,  or  rather  young  man,  for  he  was  several 
years  older  than  myself,  I recollect  distinctly,  for  he  sat 
next  to  me  on  the  same  bench  against  a long  writing  desk. 
The  young  man  was  Mr.  Wm.  W.  Conner  of  Nobles- 
ville.  I saw  him  only  once  afterwards  and  that  was  while 
he  was  serving  in  the  State  Senate.  Three  years  ago  I 
went  out  to  this  old  seminary  ground  and  looked  over  it, 
but  I could  not  realize  that  I had  ever  seen  it  before. 

Sometime  in  January  I became  very  anxious  to  return 
home,  and  I expect  my  father  was  getting  tired  of  me  ; at 
any  rate,  he  put  me  on  Judge  Dewey’s  white  horse  and 
started  me  off  in  charge  of  B.  J.  Adams,  a Louisville 
merchant.  Arriving  safely  at  Charlestown,  while  passing 
the  court-house,  the  clerk  caught  sight  of  me,  and  ran  out 
to  inquire  if  I knew  who  was  elected  to  Congress,  Wick 


REMINISCENCES. 


357 


or  Herod.  I think  I told  him  that  I had  heard  some  per- 
sons say  that  Mr.  Herod  was  elected.  This  was  a special 
election  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Kennard,  who  was  blown  up  on  a steamboat  while  on  his 
way  to  Congress. 

So  ended  my  first  visit  to  Indianapolis.  I never  saw  the 
place  again  until  nine  years  afterwards,  when  I passed  a 
whole  winter  there,  and  possibly  I may  hereafter  write  of 
what  came  under  my  own  observation  during  that  winter. 


ZIBA  FOOTE. 


Ziba  Foote  was  born  in  Newtown,  Conn.,  July  4,  A.  D. 
1785,  of  poor  but  honest,  upright  parentage.  He  taught 
school  to  raise  money  to  pay  his  way  into  Yale  College, 
and  graduated,  with  distinction,  in  1805.  In  early  life  he 
had  a strong  friendship  for  a young  man  by  the  name  of 
David  Sanford,  of  Newtown,  his  native  place.  David  was 
a little  older  and  farther  advanced,  in  1803,  than  Ziba. 
He  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1804,  the  year  that  Ziba 
entered.  They  were  so  much  alike  in  disposition  that 
their  friendship  bound  them  together  so  that  they,  at  that 
time,  loved  as  David  and  Jonathan  did. 

Jared  Mansfield,  the  surveyor-general,  had  full  control 
of  all  the  surveys  in  the  northwestern  territory,  to  wit : 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Michigan 
Territory,  with  his  headquarters  at  a village  on  the  Ohio 
river  known  as  Cincinnati. 

Wishing  to  procure  the  services  of  some  scientific  young 
men  from  Yale  College  to  assist  him  in  the  public  surveys, 
David  Sanford  was  recommended  to  him,  and  was  en- 
gaged. As  Sanford  had  already  graduated,  he  was  ready 
to  start  at  once.  Foote,  not  yet  through  college,  expected 
soon  to  follow.  Sanford,  after  completing  a contract  in 
Indiana  Territory,  near  Vincennes,  was  sent  north  to 
survey  a reserve  of  four  townships  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids 
of  the  Maumee  river,  waiting  and  hoping  for  his  friend, 
Foote,  to  come. 


359 


LIFE  OF 


360 

iVbout  the  first  of  August,  1805,  Ziba  Foote  started  from 
Newtown,  Conn.,  and,  on  the  5th  day  of  September,  he  ar- 
rived at  Cincinnati,  after  a long  and  troublesome  journey. 
Soon  afterward  the  following  letter  was  received  at  New- 
town by  his  friends : 

“Fort  Wayne  [date  not  given]. 

“ On  arriving  at  General  Mansfield’s  I found  that  Elias 
Grover  and  David  Sanford  had  gone  up  to  the  northern 
lakes,  surveying,  just  nine  days  before  my  arrival.  I pre- 
sented General  Mansfield  my  letters,  and  he  told  me  that 
from  my  youth  and  inexperience,  prudence  would  dictate 
that  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  go  one  trip  as  assistant  sur- 
veyor, after  which  he  would  make  me  a deputy.” 

Mr.  Foote  started,  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  General 
Mansfield’s,  in  pursuit  of  his  friend  Sanford,  and  found 
him  at  Fort  Wayne,  waiting  for  Mr.  Wm.  Wells,  the  In- 
dian agent,  to  give  him  directions  about  surveying,  and 
from  here  they  went  down  to  Fort  Miami,  on  the  lake,  Mr. 
Foote  on  horse-back  and  Sanford  in  a canoe. 

Sanford,  being  much  exposed,  when  he  arrived  at  the 
Fort,  was  sick.  Foote,  in  a letter  to  his  father,  said: 

“ Mr.  Sanford  would  not  permit  me  to  go  into  the 
woods,  but  kept  me  to  nurse  himself.  I took  very  strict 
care  of  him  until  I got  sick  myself.  As  there  was  no  one 
but  myself  to  take  care  of  him,  I was  compelled  to  give 
him  what  attention  I was  able.  The  accommodations  were 
wretched.  Mr.  Sanford  had  a tolerable  bed.  As  to  eat- 
ing, he  had  no  appetite,  so  that  lack  of  these  materials  was 
not  felt.  My  fever  came  on  generally  at  evenings,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  lie  on  the  floor,  which  made  my  bones  ache 
very  badly.  In  a few  days  Mr.  Sanford  died,  and  I was 
just  able  to  sit  up  to  see  him  breathe  his  last.  He  was 
speechless  four  days  before  his  death.  He  died  on  Friday, 
October  nth  (1805),  about  two  hours  before  day,  and  was 
buried  the  same  day  about  sunset.  I determined  to  go 


ZIBA  FOOTE. 


361 

back  to  Cincinnati  with  all  speed,  for  if  I stayed  there  I 
thought  I should  die  too.  The  next  day  there  came  along 
four  men,  with  but  two  horses,  who  were  going  almost  to 
Cincinnati.  I thought  this  as  good  an  opportunity  as  I 
should  find,  so  I packed  up  and  was  just  ready  to  start 
with  them  when  the  fever  came  on,  so  I was  obliged  to 
stay,  and  they  went  on. 

“ The  next  morning,  feeling  fresh  and  resolute,  I got  up 
my  horse  (one  of  Sandford’s)  and  pursued  after  and  over- 
took them  before  night.  That  night  we  all  slept  in  the 
woods.  Next  morning  we  started  two  hours  before  day 
on  our  journey ; we  traveled  on,  and  arrived  about  noon 
at  Fort  Defiance.  Here  I was  taken  with  the  fever  again, 
and  stayed  all  night,  but  they  left  me  and  went  on.  The 
next  morning  I set  out  after  my  company.  I went  on 
about  three  miles,  lost  my  road,  and  went  back  ; hired  a 
man  for  three  dollars  to  pilot  me  eighteen  miles.  He  went 
the  distance  and  turned  back ; I kept  on,  expecting  every 
minute  to  overtake  the  company,  knowing,  if  I failed,  I 
must  sleep  in  the  woods  alone.  It  rained  very  hard  con- 
stantly. Well,  I spurred  on  till  dark,  and  yet  had  not 
overtaken  them.  I could  go  no  farther,  but  must  spend 
the  night  alone  in  those  dark  woods.  In  the  first  place,  I 
knew  that  I should  want  considerable  water  in  the  night, 
but  had  nothing  but  my  boots  to  hold  it ; so  I climbed 
down  the  river  bank  and  filled  one  boot  with  water  and 
placed  it  so  that  I could  drink  out  of  it  during  the  night. 
I turned  out  my  horse  with  a bell  on,  and  hampered  him, 
and  all  was  well  so  far.  I then  took  out  my  fire-works 
and  tried  for  a long  time  to  get  a fire,  but  could  not,  as  it 
was  raining  very  hard.  I begged,  prayed,  and  cried,  but 
all  did  not  make  me  a fire,  and  I was  obliged  to  give  it  up. 
So  I took  my  two  blankets  and  lay  down  in  the  woods,  al- 
most doubting  if  I should  ever  rise  up  again.  The  rain 
poured  down  until  twelve  o’clock.  I lay  till  daylight, 


LIFE  OF 


362 

tackled  up  my  horse,  hurried  on  and  overtook  my  com- 
pany, and  at  evening  we  reached  a house.  The  lady’s 
name  was  Mrs.  B.  I stayed  there  ten  days,  and  called 
her  mother  ; but  I had  not  found  the  right  one  yet.” 

Mr.  Foote  having  returned  to  Cincinnati  quite  discour- 
aged, but  still  determined  to  work  somewhere,  he  found 
General  Mansfield  and  informed  him  of  the  death  of  his 
friend,  Sanford.  The  General,  being  a man  of  very  tender 
feelings,  could  not  refrain  from  weeping  when  he  received 
the  sad  intelligence. 

Ziba  Foote  now  brought  his  own  case  before  the  Gen- 
eral. He  was  without  friends  and  without  money  in  a 
strange  land,  and  no  work.  His  high  spirits  now  seemed 
to  be  perfectly  under  a cloud,  and  he  was  almost  in  despair  ; 
he  knew  not  where  to  go  or  what  to  do.  But  relief  came 
to  his  mind  when  General  Mansfield  informed  him  that  he 
would  give  him  every  assistance  in  his  power.  He  ad- 
vanced him  money,  and  gave  him  as  much  to  do  in  his  of- 
fice as  he  could  do ; also  assured  him  that  he  would  give 
him  as  much  lucrative  business  in  the  future  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  would  admit  of,  and  as  he  became  able  to  per- 
form it.  Ziba  spent  the  winter  in  Cincinnati. 

The  last  letter  that  he  wrote  to  his  friends  in  Connecti- 
cut was  dated  March  20,  1806,  on  the  Ohio  river,  off 
against  Fort  Massie,  and  contained  the  following  extract: 

“ On  the  4th  of  this  month  I set  out  to  survey  with  Mr. 
William  Rector,  a ‘gentleman  with  whom  I am  well 
pleased.” 

Next  in  order  is  a letter  from  Wm.  Rector  to  Surveyor- 
General  Mansfield,  giving  an  account  of  poor  Foote’s 
tragic  death.  It  is  dated:  “Surak’s  Ferry,  Ohio  River, 
May  16th,  1806,”  and  reads  as  follows : 

“Sir,  I am  extremely  sorry  to  inform  you,  that  about 
twelve  o’clock  on  Wednesday,  the  30th  of  April,  Mr.  Ziba 
Foote  was  drowned.  The  circumstances  attending  this 


ZIBA  FOOTE. 


363 

melancholy  accident  were  as  follows : The  overflowed 
country  that  I was  compelled,  last  winter,  to  leave  un- 
finished, he  was  surveying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wabash. 
He  came  to  a pond,  about  thirty  chains  wide,  which,  from 
its  appearance,  he  supposed  he  and  his  companions  could 
pass  through  without  swimming ; but,  being  uncertain, 
he  fastened  his  compass  and  Jacob-stafF  to  his  belt,  in  or- 
der to  be  able  to  go  through  at  any  rate.  In  this  encum- 
bered condition,  he  went  into  the  pond,  and  had  gone  but 
a short  distance  when  he  got  over  his  depth.  As  soon  as 
he  began  to  swim  he  called  out  to  his  chainmen,  and  di- 
rected them  to  follow  him,  for  he  said  he  was  determined 
to  swim  through.  They  did  so,  and  all  swam  on  very 
well  until  they  had  nearly  passed  the  deep  part  of  the 
water,  when,  all  of  a sudden,  Mr.  Foote  began  to  sink, 
and  said  he  was  drowning.  Mr.  Gilkerson,  one  of  the 
chainmen,  who  is  a very  good  swimmer,  swam  to  him  ; 
but  he  had  sunk  so  low  that  he  was  unable  to  get  hold  of 
him,  except  by  his  hat,  which  was  on  his  head.  By  this 
means  he  kept  him  up  for  a short  time  ; but  his  hat  came 
off,  when  he  at  once  sank,  and  never  rose  again. 

“Mr.  Gilkerson  then  went  out  on  the  pond,  on  some 
logs  they  had  tied  together,  and  endeavored  to  raise  him 
with  a long  pole  and  a hook,  in  time  to  save  his  life  ; but 
the  logs,  unfortunately,  separated,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
swim  to  shore.  They  then  made  a raft,  on  which  Mr. 
Gilkerson  went  out  a second  time,  and  raised  Mr.  Foote 
and  brought  him  out ; but  it  was  too  late.  He  had  been 
under  water  about  two  hours,  and  life  was  extinct.  His 
company  then  made  a wooden  spade,  with  which,  and  an 
ax,  they  dug  a grave  on  a small  hill  near  the  pond.  They 
then  made  a bark  coffin,  and  buried  him  late  that  evening. 
His  burial  was  as  decent  as  circumstances  would  admit 
of,  for  the  place  is  remote  from  aJl  settlements. 

“Mr.  Gilkerson  at  once  came  here  to  communicate  to 


364 


LIFE  OF 


me  the  melancholy  intelligence.  Sincerely  do  I regret 
Mr.  Foote’s  untimely  death,  for  he  was  a young  man  who 
possessed  many  amiable  virtues,  among  which  were  in- 
dustry, perseverance,  candor  and  good  nature.  Often 
has  he  expressed  to  me  the  most  lively  gratitude  for  the 
friendly  treatment  he  had  received  at  your  house.  He 
had  endeared  himself  to  all  my  company  in  such  a man- 
ner that,  had  each  one  lost  a dear  relative,  they  could  not 
have  expressed  more  sorrow  at  his  loss.  When  I parted 
with  Mr.  Foote,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  I told  him 
he  would  meet  with  great  difficulties  in  surveying  among 
the  ponds,  and  requested  him  not  to  hurry  himself,  and  in 
all  cases  to  work  around  the  ponds  by  offsets.  He  ob- 
served that  he  would  take  as  much  time  as  would  enable 
him  to  do  the  work  in  the  most  accurate  manner,  but  said 
he  had  been  informed  that  some  of  his  friends  at  Cincin- 
nati had  predicted  that  he  would  not  stand  the  fatigue  of 
the  woods,  and  that  he  was  determined  to  exert  himself 
to  accomplish  what  he  had  to  do  as  soon  as  possible,  in 
order  to  convince  his  friends  that  he  did  not  want  fortitude 
to  go  through  with  what  he  was  willing  to  undertake. 

“ I am  yours,  etc.,  Wm.  Rector, 

“ Deputy  Surveyor 

The  following  is  from  Prof.  E.  T.  Cox : 

“When  on  a visit  to  Bedford,  in  Lawrence  county,  to 
examine  the  stone  quarries,  I came  across  the  tomb  of 
Ziba  Foote  and  Winthrop  Foote,  M.  D.,  his  brother.  Dr. 
Foote  was  a very  learned  man  and  noted  for  his  eccen- 
tricities. A very  large  block  of  limestone  had  broken  off 
from  the  face  of  a projecting  cliff  and  lay  at  its  foot,  in  a 
deep,  narrow  and  secluded  valley,  close  to  the  town  of 
Bedford,  and  on  Dr.  Foote’s  land. 

He  had  a hole  cut  into  this  stone  for  a vault,  in  which  to 
entomb  the  remains  of  his  brother  and  himself.  Many 
years  ago  he  made  a journey  on  horse-back  to  Posey 


ZIBA  FOOTE . 


365 


county,  to  hunt  for  the  grave  of  Ziba  Foote.  John  Waller, 
who  was  then  living  near  Foote’s  Grave  Pond,  conducted 
him  to  the  grave.  Ziba  Foote’s  body  had  been  wrapped 
in  the  bark  of  a tree,  which  served  as  shroud  and  coffin. 

The  bones  were  gathered  up  and  were  carried  to  their 
present  resting  place.  On  the  flat  top  of  the  stone  sepul- 
cher is  a triangular-capped  monolith,  which  bears  the 
epitaph  of  the  two  brothers.  I was  so  struck  with  this 
singular  burial  place  that  I made  a sketch  of  the  stone  and 
copied  the  following  memorial : 

ZIBA  FOOTE,  A.  B., 

Born  in  Newtown,  Conn., 

July  4th,  1785. 

Died 

April  80th,  1806. 

He  graduated  at  Yale  College,  with  great  honor,  at  the  age  of  20 
years,  was  drowned  in  Foote’s  Grave  Pond,  Gibson  county,  Indiana, 
while  conducting  government  surveys. 

His  remains  lie  here. 

“And  by  the  buried  bones  of  him  whom  living  I loved  best, 

See  me  at  last  laid  quietly,  then  leave  me  to  my  rest.” 

On  the  other  side  of  the  shaft  was : 

WINTHROP  FOOTE,  M.  D., 

Born  Newtown,  Conn., 

November  30th,  1787. 

Died  Bedford,  Ind., 

August  2d,  1856. 

By  unsurpassed  energy  he  educated  himself  and  graduated  in  law 
and  medicine  with  great  distinction  early  in  life.  Having  selected  for 
practice  the  latter  profession,  his  mental  and  physical  energies  se- 
cured him  success  equaled  by  few  of  his  contemporaries.  He  emi- 
grated to  Palestine  in  1818  and  to  Bedford  in  1823. 

“And  so  farewell  my  dear,  good  friends, 

And  farewell  world,  to  thee, 

I part  with  some  in  love, 

With  all  in  peace  and  charity.” 


366 


SKETCH  OF 


SKETCH  OF  SAMUEL  MORRISON. 


Samuel  Morrison,  the  author  of  the  preceding  biog- 
raphy,  was  in  many  respects  a most  remarkable  man. 
He  was  born  at  Aurora,  Indiana,  March  i,  1798,  and  was 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Dearborn  county,  which  at 
that  time  included  all  of  Indiana  lying  east  of  the  Fort 
Greenville  treaty  line.  The  story  of  his  life  presents  a 
picture  of  the  hard  experience  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
state — especially  hard  to  him  because  of  a lameness  which 
made  manual  labor  difficult  for  him — and  it  is  given  here 
as  he  related  it  to  the  writer  a few  months  before  his  death  : 

“My  parents,”  he  said,  “ were  Pennsylvanians.  My 
father  was  a soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  wounded 
at  Brandywine.  After  the  close  of  the  war  they  moved  to 
Kentucky,  and  in  1796,  on  St.  Valentine’s  day,  they  set- 
tled at  Petersburg,  Ind.,  then  known  as  Tanner’s  Station. 
There  was  an  old  Indian  hut  there,  without  any  roof  or 
floor,  and  my  father  had  come  over  before  and  fixed  it  up 
so  that  it  could  be  inhabited  until  he  could  get  something 
better.  My  father  kept  a ferry  there.  It  was  just  a canoe 
in  which  he  carried  passengers  ; they  made  the  horses 
swim  alongside.  Before  1798  my  parents  moved  to  the 
site  of  Aurora,  where  I was  born.  Both  my  father  and 
my  mother  died  before  I was  eight  years  old.  While  at 
Aurora  my  father  assisted  Benjamin  Chambers.  He  was 
a brother-in-law  of  Israel  Ludlow,  and  they  two  did  the 
first  surveying  in  southeastern  Indiana.  They  lived  near 
Dayton,  O.,  at  the  time.  Chambers  soon  afterward  came 
to  Indiana  and  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  Dear- 
born county  by  Governor  Harrison.” 

“ Where  did  you  go  after  the  death  of  your  parents?” 

“ I went  to  Dayton  to  live  with  my  uncle,  Samuel  Mor- 
rison, who  was  a wagon-master  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 


SAMUEL  MORRISON. 


367 

While  here  I got  my  first  schooling  from  Thomas  Brown, 
a Quaker.  Before  I went  to  school,  however,  my  uncle’s 
oldest  daughter,  who  had  some  education,  used  to  give  out 
spelling  to  us  younger  children,  and  I learned  to  spell  in 
words  of  five  syllables  before  I knew  a letter  of  the  alpha- 
bet by  sight.  When  I went  to  school  my  cousin  gave  me 
a piece  of  an  old  Dillworth’s  spelling-book.  It  was  the 
first  half.  When  we  got  through  it  I used  to  borrow  the 
books  of  the  other  children  and  copy  out  the  lessons  for 
the  next  day.  I copied  it  in  print  because  I had  not 
learned  to  write,  and  so  by  the  time  we  were  through  the 
book  I could  make  very  good  letters.” 

This  skill  in  lettering  is  one  which  Mr.  Morrison  de- 
veloped until  he  was  able  to  produce  work  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  print.  One  of  his  most  remarkable  pro- 
ductions in  this  line  is  a book  of  the  songs  which  have 
been  favorites  with  him.  He  made  it,  as  music  is  com- 
monly written,  with  one  verse  printed  under  the  staves 
and  the  others  placed  below.  Every  part  of  it  was  done 
with  a pen. 

“After  some  months’  stay  at  Dayton,”  continued  Mr. 
Morrison,  “ I returned  to  Lawrenceburg  and  lived  with 
Eli  Girrard  and  ’Squire  Foster,  who  had  married  half-sis- 
ters of  mine.  While  looking  about  for  employment  there 
I met  Captain  Crandall,  an  old  sea  captain,  who  hired  me 
to  do  chores  for  him.  He  was  the  man  who  took  the  first 
ship  built  at  Marietta  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers.  When  he  came  to  Twelve  Mile  Island,  about 
Louisville,  the  water  had  become  so  low  that  he  had  to 
anchor  and  wait  until  the  river  raised.  While  he  was 
there  he  met  Betsy  Dorsey,  a very  pretty  girl,  who  lived 
in  Clark  county,  Indiana,  and  they  were  married.  He 
took  her  with  him  down  the  river,  and  after  the  ship  was 
fitted  out  at  New  Orleans  they  went  with  it  to  Russia  and 
back  again.  They  were  both  very  kind  to  me.  The  cap- 


SKETCH  OF 


368 

tain  had  a great  many  books  and  was  skilled  in  everything 
relating  to  navigation.  I asked  him  to  loan  me  a geog- 
raphy that  he  had — I think  it  was  Morse’s  large  geog- 
raphy. He  did  so  and  I took  it  home  and  copied  all  the 
maps  that  were  in  it.  By  that  I learned  a great  deal  of 
geography  and  became  a fair  draughtsman.  Captain 
Crandall  also  taught  me  arithmetic  as  far  as  the  single 
rule  of  three,  and  something  about  astronomy.  He  used 
to  take  me  out  at  night  and  point  out  the  constellations  of 
the  fixed  stars  and  explain  the  motions  of  the  planets.” 

“ Did  you  go  to  school  while  at  Lawrenceburg?  ” 

“Very  little.  My  brothers-in-law  were  poor,  and  they 
did  not  appreciate  the  advantages  of  education.  They  said 
I knew  enough  already ; that  I could  read  and  write  and 
ciper,  besides  being  able  to  print  letters  and  make  maps. 
In  those  days  there  were  no  free  schools,  and  a boy  could 
not  go  to  school  unless  some  one  paid  his  tuition  or  gave 
security  for  it.  I had  one  quarter’s  schooling,  though. 
My  brother  Ephraim  paid  for  it.  The  teacher  was  David 
P.  Shook.  He  could  only  cipher  as  far  as  the  single  rule 
of  three,  however,  and  so  I only  went  over  my  old  work. 

“After  a time  my  brother  came  up  from  Clark  county 
on  a visit,  and  I went  back  with  him.  He  was  poor,  too. 
but  I was  old  enough  to  do  manual  labor  and  support  my- 
self. I quarried  stone  and  chopped  and  scored  timber 
The  wages  paid  were  twenty-five  cents  a day,  and  board 
and  washing  cost  a dollar  a week.  In  1820  I opened  a 
school  at  Utica,  in  Clark  county.  The  way  a school 
was  started  was  this  : The  teacher  would  take  an  article 
of  agreement  about  the  neighborhood,  and  the  people 
would  agree  to  send  their  children  and  contribute  to  pay 
the  rent  of  the  building  and  the  cost  of  fuel.  I had  fifty 
or  sixty  pupils  in  my  first  school. 

“The  last  schooling  I had  was  in  1821.  I had  saved 
up  a little  money  and  went  over  to  Louisville  where  a 


SAMVEL  MORRISON. 


369 

Presbyterian  preacher  named  Dow  was  teaching.  I 
agreed  to  take  care  of  the  building  for  my  tuition,  but  even 
then  my  means  were  so  limited  that  I had  to  use  great 
economy.  I obtained  permission  from  Dow  to  stay  in  the 
school-room  at  night.  I slept  on  a bench  with  my  books 
for  a pillow.  I used  to  buy  bread  and  sugar,  which  I kept 
in  my  desk,  and  for  three  months  I ate  nothing  but  bread 
and  drank  sweetened  water,  except  on  a few  occasions 
when  I was  invited  out  to  a meal.  I felt  no  bad  effects 
from  it,  and  my  head  was  as  clear  as  a bell.  After  that  I 
taught  school  for  three  years  at  Utica,  and  in  1824  went  to 
Lawrenceburg.  I taught  school  in  that  vicinity  until  1832. 
In  vacation  I used  to  go  to  Dayton  and  write  in  the  clerk’s 
office  and  on  the  supreme  court  records. 

“ In  1833  Micajah  T.  Williams,  of  Cincinnati,  surveyor- 
general  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin 
and  Iowa,  sent  for  me  and  told  me  that  he  had  a place  for 
me  at  $500  a year.  I was  just  about  closing  a contract 
with  the  clerk  and  auditor  at  Dayton  to  work  for  them  at 
$600  a year,  but  as  Williams  said  he  would  increase  my 
salary  if  I gave  satisfaction,  I went  with  him.  He  soon 
raised  my  salary  to  $625.  While  here  I was  elected  trus- 
tee and  visitor  of  the  city  schools.  I did  not  know  I was 
a candidate  until  I was  elected,  and  at  first  I decided  to 
decline.  I remember  a friend  of  mine  told  me  I had  bet- 
ter not.  He  said  there  was  $10  fine  for  refusing  an  office 
in  this  country.  I thought  it  over  and  concluded  to  accept. 
I must  confess  that  I felt  gratified  that  I,  a poor  orphan 
boy,  should  have  been  selected  by  my  fellow-citizens  for  a 
public  trust,  especially  as  I received  more  votes  than  E. 
D.  Mansfield,  whom  I considered  one  of  the  greatest  men 
in  the  West  while  he  lived.  He  was  elected  from  the 
same  ward  that  I was,  at  the  same  time.  Joseph  Ray,  the 
author  of  Ray’s  Arithmetic,  was  also  a trustee  and  visitor 
during  my  term.  I remained  in  the  surveyor’s  office  for 


37° 


SKETCH  OF 


thirteen  years,  and  then  went  to  live  on  a farm  on  the  high 
land  back  of  Lawrenceburg,  which  is  called  ‘ the  ridge.’ 
I lived  there  until  1871,  and  then  came  to  Indianapolis.” 

“ You  made  several  maps  that  were  published,  did  you 

not  ? ” 

“Yes,  I drew  the  first  map  of  Indiana  that  was  pub- 
lished. That  was  in  1816,  and  there  were  only  thirteen 
counties  in  the  new  state.  It  was  engraved  on  copper 
plate  and  printed  at  Cincinnati.  I also  made  a map  of 
Indiana  in  1845,  which  was  published  at  Cincinnati.  I 
circulated  it  widely,  together  with  a pamphlet  giving  a 
synopsis  of  our  land  system  and  our  school  laws.  In  1835 
I published  the  first  map  of  Wisconsin  that  was  ever  made. 
That  was  before  it  was  set  off  as  a territory.  I changed 
the  orthography  from  Ouisconsin  to  its  present  form.  The 
winter  before,  Congress  had  a squabble  about  the  name  of 
the  proposed  territory,  but  the  next  winter  they  made  the 
law  giving  the  name  as  I had  printed  it.  In  1836-7  I pub- 
lished a map  of  Iowa  and  gave  the  present  orthography. 
Before  that  it  was  written  Ioway.” 

“ Did  you  not  make  some  military  maps  that  were  used 
during  the  rebellion?” 

“Yes,  sir,  I did.  I shall  always  believe  that  I originated 
the  plan  for  the  capture  of  Vicksburg.  I had  been  over 
the  country  in  that  vicinity  when  I was  a young  man,  and 
knew  it  well.  I made  a map  showing  filty  miles  square, 
including  Port  Gibson,  Grand  Gulf  and  Jackson.  Some 
of  my  friends  advised  me  to  send  it  to  General  Grant.  I 
wrote  on  the  margin : ‘ Grand  Gulf  and  Bruinsburg  are 

the  places  to  capture  and  hold  ; then  destroy  the  bridges 
over  Big  Black  river  and  Bayou  Pierre  ; these  streams 
will  guard  your  flanks  ; then  march  out  and  capture  Jack- 
son  ; this  done,  you  can  take  Vicksburg  at  your  leisure.’ 
I sent  this  to  General  Grant,  and  afterwards  the  canal 
project  on  which  he  was  working  was  abandoned,  and  my 


SAMUEL  MORRISON. 


371 


plan  was  adopted.  I also  made  a map  of  eastern  Virginia 
for  secret  war  movements.  It  was  laid  off  in  sections  on 
a base  line  drawn  through  Fortress  Monroe,  and  a me- 
ridian line  through  Richmond.  By  means  of  this  an  of- 
ficer could  be  ordered  to  occupy  any  section  as  it  appeared 
on  this  map,  and  if  the  instructions  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy  they  would  not  be  understood.  General  Butler 
told  me  that  his  movements  in  eastern  Virginia  were 
planned  and  carried  out  by  this  map.” 

Although  Mr.  Morrison’s  story  is  in  many  particulars 
stranger  than  fiction,  its  accuracy  can  not  be  questioned. 
The  struggles  of  his  early  life,  in  which  he  “ breasted  the 
blows  of  circumstance  ” and  forced  his  way  to  an  honor- 
able position  among  his  fellows  are  well  known  to  many 
old  residents.  As  to  his  war  maps  he  had  the  following 
letters  in  his  possession,  which  are  of  much  historical  in- 
terest * 

“Near  Vicksburg,  March  10,  1863. 
“A.  Morrison , Esq.: 

“Dear  Sir — Your  note  enclosing  a map  of  Vicksburg 
and  surroundings  was  duly  received  ; also,  your  second 
letter. 

“The  canal  across  the  point  will  undoubtedly  prove  a 
success,  and  would  now  have  been  ready  for  use,  or  nearly 
so,  but  for  an  accident  resulting  from  the  great  rise  of 
water.  The  river  has  broken  in  the  upper  dam  to  the 
canal  and  filled  it  with  water,  making  a crevasse  in  the 
canal  levee  about  midway  of  the  point.  This  will  set  us 
back  probably  ten  days. 

“ I am  supplied  with  all  the  engineers  and  other  staff  of- 
ficers provided  for  by  law,  and  have  not  the  authority  to 
accept  your  services  as  you  request. 

“Yours,  etc. , 

“ U.  S.  Grant,  Major  General.” 


372 


SKETCH  OF 


“ Ft.  Monroe,  Va.  , March  6,  1864. 

“ My  Dear  Sir — I have  received  your  very  excellent 
war  map  of  Eastern  Virginia,  and  will  have  it  framed  on 
rollers  so  that  it  can  be  used.  From  the  cursory  examina- 
tion I have  been  able  to  give  it  I think  it  will  be  of  use, 
and  am  much  obliged  for  it. 

“ Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

“ Benj.  F.  Butler,  Maj.  Gen.  Army. 

“ Samuel  Morrison,  EsqV 


“ Boston,  May  25,  1S84. 

“ My  Dear  Sir — The  map  of  yours,  after  I got  to  Ber- 
muda Hundreds,  along  in  the  summer,  was  lost,  and  I 
don’t  know  that  I ever  regretted  the  loss  of  any  one  thing 
more  than  that,  and  I am  very  glad  to  hear  from  the  author 
of  it,  and  am  grateful  for  expressions  of  confidence  and 
regard.  Yours  truly, 

“ Benj.  F.  Butler. 

“ Samuel  Morrison,  EsqY 

While  in  the  land  office,  Mr.  Morrison  made  several 
discoveries  and  improvements  in  the  systems  of  work 
which  have  since  been  used  in  the  department.  He  orig- 
inated the  system  of  printed  sheets  for  drawing  township 
maps,  and  had  the  first  plate  engraved  from  which  they 
were  printed.  He  discovered  a principle  for  the  calcula- 
tion of  fractional  sections,  by  which  the  old  mode  of  calcu- 
lation by  latitude  and  departure  was  superseded  and  much 
time  and  labor  were  saved.  He  also  discovered  that  the 
relations  between  the  fractional  tracts  in  such  fractional 
sections  were  such  that  when  the  dimensions  of  one  were 
known  the  others  could  be  determined  by  a short  and  sim- 
ple process  without  separate  calculation.  Although  these 
discoveries  have  been  of  great  service  to  the  government, 
Mr.  Morrison  received  no  greater  reward  than  the  clerks 


SAMUEL  MORRISON. 


373 


who  did  ordinary  work  by  his  side.  After  removing  to 
Indianapolis  he  suffered  financial  losses,  in  consequence 
of  which  he  petitioned  Congress  for  special  compensation, 
but  no  action  was  taken  on  his  memorial. 

Although  in  reduced  circumstances,  Mr.  Morrison’s 
later  years  were  passed  in  comfort  and  tranquility.  His 
personal  acquaintance  with  Indiana  history  was  extensive, 
and  he  furnished  much  information  to  students  in  that  field, 
as  well  as  writing  occasional  articles  for  the  newspapers. 
He  died  March  i,  1888 — the  ninetieth  anniversary  of  his 
birth — respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS, 


* 


VOLUME  II. 


Number  io. 


OLD  SETTLERS” 


ROBERT  B.  DUNCAN. 


INDIANAPOLIS : 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 

1894. 


9 


During  the  month  of  January,  1879,  while  convalescing 
from  a long  spell  of  sickness,  Robert  B.  Duncan  wrote 
these  four  papers  about  the  “ Old  Settlers  of  this  section 
of  Indiana  ; they  were  written  for  the  Indianapolis  Herald , 
a weekly  paper,  at  the  request  of  George  Harding,  who 
was  then  its  owner  and  editor,  and  appeared  in  the  issues 
of  January  nth,  18th,  25th,  and  February  1st,  1879. 

It  was  Mr.  Duncan’s  intention  to  write  much  more  on 
this  subject,  but  he  neglected  to  do  so. 

He  still  resides  in  this  city,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-three,  and  has  lived  in  this  vicinity  since  1820. 

It  is  at  the  request  of  the  Historical  Society  that  I have 
gathered  these  papers  and  furnished  them  for  publication. 

John  R.  Wilson. 

Indianapolis,  ‘January , 1894. 


(.,76) 


OLD  SETTLERS’  PAPERS.  No.  i. 


In  the  early  spring  of  1820,  about  the  last  days  of  March, 
my  father,  with  his  family,  settled — perhaps  the  better  ex- 
pression would  be  “ squatted, ” as  all  newcomers  were  then 
called  squatters — in  an  Indian  village,  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  White  river,  bordering  a prairie  of  about  three 
hundred  acres,  situated  about  four  miles  south  of  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Noblesville,  the  whole  of  central  Indiana  being 
then  owned  by  the  general  government,  unsurveyed,  mostly 
unoccupied,  and,  with  very  limited  exceptions,  heavily 
timbered.  The  Indian  village  above  mentioned  had  been 
owned  and  was  still  occupied  by  the  Delawares  (from  which 
tribe  the  government  had  but  recently  purchased  a consid- 
erable portion  of  central  Indiana)  and  was  the  trade  sta- 
tion of  the  late  William  Conner  and  his  partner,  William 
Marshall,  both  of  whom  understood  and  spoke  fluently  the 
dialect  of  several  tribes  of  the  Indians,  then  inhabiting 
portions  of  the  state,  who  made  that  their  trading  point. 
Hence,  for  a period  of  nearly  three  years  there  was  quite 
a number  of  Indians  in  and  about  the  village,  mostly  Dela- 
wares. (I  may  say  something  more  about  these  Indians  in 
a separate  sketch.)  About  the  time  my  father  squatted  in 
the  Indian  village  William  Bush  and  family,  Charles  Lacy 
and  family,  and  a family  whose  name  has  escaped  my 
recollection,  squatted  near  the  village,  but  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  Judge  John  Finch  (father  of  Judge  F* 
M.  Finch,  of  this  city)  had  in  the  previous  November 
squatted  on  a tract  of  land  about  two  miles  north  of  the 

(377) 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


378 

village,  also  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  with  his 
family.  These  five  families,  with  Conner  and  Marshall 
above  mentioned,  constituted  all  the  white  people  then  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  and  with  Robert  Harding  and 
family,  Samuel  Harding  and  family,  George  Pogue  and 
family,  James  Mcllvain  and  family,  John  McCormick  and 
family,  Jeremiah  J.  Corbaley  and  family,  Jeremiah  Johnson 
(Quaker)  and  David  McCurdy  and  family,  who  had,  as 
early  as  April,  1820,  settled  in  what  is  now  Marion  county, 
mostly  in  or  near  where  the  city  now  stands,  constituted 
all  the  white  people  within  the  territory  now  composing  the 
counties  of  Marion,  Hamilton,  Madison,  Hancock,  Shelby, 
Johnson,  Hendricks  and  Boone,  so  far  as  my  recollection 
now  serves  me. 

The  little  prairie  adjoining  the  Indian  village  in  which 
my  father  settled  enabled  him  to  enclose  ten  acres  of  land, 
and  to  break  up  and  plant  the  same  in  corn,  by  which  a 
good  crop  was  raised  the  same  year. 

Bush  and  Lacy  also  availed  themselves  of  the  same  ad- 
vantages and  privileges  and  also  raised  corn  the  same 
year.  Judge  Finch  raised  a crop  of  corn  upon  a small 
prairie  on  the  land  upon  which  he  settled. 

The  corn  previously  raised  by  Mr.  Brown  and  a negro 
called  Bill  Allen  who  had  escaped  from  slavery  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  had  been  living  amongst  the  Indians  in  this 
village  for  a sufficient  length  of  time  to  have  three  Indian 
* wives,  furnished  the  several  families  which  I have  above 
enumerated  with  breadstuff.  There  being  no  mills  to  grind 
the  corn  into  meal  the  settlers  substituted  what  was  called 
lye-hominy,  and  a kind  of  meal  made  by  pounding  the 
corn  in  what  were  called  “ mortars.”  This  was  a very 
slow  process,  and  did  not  produce  very  good  meal.  To 
obviate  this  Mr.  Bush,  who  was  a Vermonter,  and  who 
had  brought  with  him  quite  a variety  of  mechanical  tools, 
procured  from  White  river  some  stones, out  of  which  he  made 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


3 79 

two  small  mill  stones,  and  then  prepared  the  necessary 
woodwork  for  putting  the  same  in  running  condition  and 
fastened  the  mill  up  to  a hackberry  tree  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  river,  the  motive  power  being  a long  beam  operated 
by  horse  power,  a rawhide  rope  being  used  for  belting. 
This  mill  would  produce  from  two  to  two  and  a half 
bushels  of  good  meal  per  day,  and  answered  an  excellent 
purpose,  not  only  doing  the  necessary  grinding  for  our 
neighborhood  but  for  the  settlers  of  this  section,  who  had 
to  come  to  our  settlement  to  purchase  corn.  No  toll  was 
charged  at  this  mill.  All  that  was  required  was  that  each 
person  should  furnish  his  own  horse.  This  was  the  first 
mill  built  in  the  New  Purchase. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  Judge  Finch  erected  a horse  mill 
upon  his  land  and  inclosed  it  in  a log  structure  covered 
with  clapboards,  thus  keeping  the  machinery  and  opera- 
tor out  of  the  wet.  This  mill  would  grind  by  diligent  ap- 
plication ten  bushels  of  corn  per  day,  and  answered  a val- 
uable purpose  until  the  next  year  when  Isaac  Wilson  built 
what  was  called  a corn  cracker  on  Fall  creek,  near  its 
mouth,  and  a mill  for  grinding  both  wheat  and  corn  was 
built  by  Wm.  Linton  a short  distance  above  the  Wilson 
mill,  about  where  Indiana  avenue  crosses  the  creek. 

During  the  summer  of  1820,  the  commissioners  appoint- 
ed by  the  legislature  to  select  the  four  sections  of  land 
donated  by  the  national  government  to  the  state  of  Indiana 
for  a permanent  seat  of  government  of  the  state  met  at  the 
trading  station  of  William  Conner  (the  Indian  village  above 
mentioned),  as  required  by  law,  and  from  there  examined 
several  points  on  White  river — one  at  “ The  Bluffs,”  now 
in  Morgan  county  ; one  the  site  where  the  location  was 
finally  made,  and  upon  which  the  city  now  stands  ; and 
another  the  farm  then  occupied  by  Judge  Finch  which  was 
afterwards,  when  put  in  market,  purchased  by  John  Cor- 
win, one  of  the  commissioners.  My  recollection  is  that 


380 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


the  site  where  Noblesville  is  situated  was  never  examined 
by  the  commissioners.  After  a careful  examination  of  the 
several  places  named,  the  commissioners  settled  upon  the 
present  location,  having  failed  by  one  vote  only  of  locat- 
ing at  “ The  Bluffs.”  The  land  where  they  determined  to 
locate  not  yet  having  been  surveyed,  the  commissioners, 
being  under  the  necessity  of  waiting  several  days  on  the 
surveyors,  returned  to  the  Indian  village,  where  the  whole 
subject  was  fully  and  largely  discussed  and  the  reasons 
given  for  the  site  selected  and  why  the  town  should  be  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river  rather  than  the  west  side. 

One  reason  for  locating  at  this  point  was  that  it  was 
nearer  the  center  of  the  state  than  either  of  the  other 
points,  or  any  suitable  point  that  could  be  found.  Another 
was  that  this  point  furnished  the  best  location  for  boat 
landing  that  could  be  found  at  any  point  on  the  river  with- 
in any  reasonable  distance  of  the  center  of  the  state,  and 
the  east  side  was  better  for  that  purpose  than  the  west 
side,  and  as  a further  reason,  Fall  creek  was  on  the  east 
side,  and  was  the  stream  upon  which  the  mills  were  to  be 
built,  and  the  town  and  mills  should  be  on  the  same  side 
of  the  river.  It  was  then  confidently  believed  by  those 
wise  men  (I  do  not  make  use  of  this  term  in  derision  for 
they  were  wise  men  of  their  day),  that  White  river  would 
be  made  navigable  for  boats  of  sufficient  size  to  answer  all 
the  commercial  demands  of  the  town,  and  the  mills  on 
Fall  creek  would  be  sufficient  for  all  milling  purposes, — 
steam  for  purposes  of  locomotion  or  milling  purposes  being 
then  unknown. 

Those  views,  judging  from  a present  stand-point,  appear 
so  absurd  that  I have  seldom  spoken  of  them,  and  when  I 
have  done  so,  I did  it  only  as  I do  it  now,  simply  to  illus- 
trate the  difference  between  then  and  now. 

The  site  for  the  permanent  seat  of  the  government  hav- 
ing been  thus  located,  quite  a number  of  persons  and  fam- 


“OLD  SETTLERS 


38 1 


ilies  later  in  the  same  year  located  in  and  near  the  town 
site,  and  still  more  the  next  year  (1821),  during  which  year 
the  town  was  laid  out  and  the  first  sale  of  lots  made.  In 
looking  over  a list  of  some  three  hundred  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Indianapolis  and  its  vicinity,  and  their  descend- 
ants, which  I have  in  my  possession,  I find  a very  few  of 

those  earlv  settlers  still  remaining. 

January  //,  i8yg.  Robert  B.  Duncan. 


OLD  SETTLERS’  PAPERS.  No.  2. 


In  sketch  No.  1 of  these  jottings  I gave  an  account  of 
how  the  very  early  settlers  of  this  part  of  central  Indiana 
obtained  the  means  of  living  so  far  as  they  consisted  of 
bread  and  the  kind  of  material  out  of  which  it  was  made. 
It  may  not  be  wholly  uninteresting  to  some  of  the  readers 
of  the  Herald  to  learn  how  the  bread  was  prepared 
and  cooked  in  those  primitive  times.  As  a matter  of 
course,  nearly  all  bread  was  made  of  corn  meal,  prepared 
in  the  manner  stated  in  my  former  sketch,  but  was  not  all 
of  one  kind.  First,  there  was  what  was  called  the 
“dodger;”  secondly,  the  “pone,”  and,  thirdly,  the 
“johnny  cake.”  The  “dodger”  was  a kind  of  bread 
made  of  corn  meal  mixed  with  pure  water,  with  a little  salt 
in  it,  made  into  a stiff  dough,  then  rolled  with  the  hands 
of  the  good  housewife,  or  one  that  was  to  become  such, 
into  a ball  about  the  size  of  your  hand,  put  together  into 
a kind  of  oblong  shape,  and  baked  in  an  iron  bake-oven — 
a kind  of  cooking  utensil  with  which  all  early  settlers  had 
provided  themselves,  being  in  size  about  the  circumference 
of  a half-bushel  measure,  and  in  depth  about  eight  inches, 
with  an  iron  cover  or  lid,  which  could  be  put  on  and  taken 
off  at  pleasure,  and  so  constructed  as  to  hold  quite  a quan- 
tity of  coals  upon  its  top.  Coals  underneath  and  on  top  of 
this  oven,  taken  from  a well-prepared  wood  fire  in  an  old 
fashioned  fire-place,  with  which  all  cabins  were  provided, 
constituted  the  heating  power  with  which  this  kind  of  bak- 

(383) 


“ OLD  SETTLERS.” 


384 

ing  was  done.  “Pone”  consisted  of  a preparation  of  corn 
meal  mixed  with  water,  with  some  milk  or  cream,  and  a 
quantity  of  yeast,  prepared  in  some  way  known  to  the 
cooks,  made  into  a dough  not  so  stiff  as  that  for  the 
“ dodger,”  and  placed  in  this  same  oven,  where,  in  a short 
time  it  would  become  light,  or  what  was  then  so  consid- 
ered, and  was  then  baked  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
“dodger,”  thus  making  a loaf  about  six  inches  in  thick- 
ness, and  of  the  full  internal  dimensions  of  the  oven.  The 
“johnny  cake”  consisted  of  a dough  made  of  corn  meal 
with  some  lard  or  butter  in  it,  about  six  inches  in  width 
and  one  inch  in  thickness,  and  placed  upon  a board  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose,  about  two  feet  in  length  and  from 
eight  to  ten  inches  in  width,  the  baking  being  done  by  lo- 
cating this  board  lengthwise  before  the  open  fire,  so  as  to 
present  the  full  front  of  the  cake  to  the  fire,  and  so  near  it 
that  the  heat  would,  in  a reasonable  time,  thoroughly  cook 
that  side  of  the  cake,  and  enable  the  cook  to  loosen  the 
cake  from  the  board  and  turn  the  other  side  to  the  fire,  by 
which  means  the  cake  would  soon  become  thoroughly 
cooked,  thus  producing,  as  I have  always  believed,  the  best 
bread  ever  made  out  of  corn.  The  pone  was  considered 
the  next  best,  but  the  dodger,  being  the  most  convenient 
and  readily  made,  was  most  used. 

I do  not  wish  to  be  understood  that  these  very  early  set- 
tlers, or  those  that  soon  followed  and  joined  them,  lived  by 
bread  alone.  Such  was  far  from  the  case.  Meat,  after 
the  kind,  was  quite  plenty,  and  no  one,  as  far  as  my  rec- 
ollection serves  me,  suffered  for  want  of  meat  of  some 
kind.  The  country  was  full  of  game,  such  as  deer,  tur- 
keys and  pheasants,  all  of  which  constituted  a very  savory 
meat,  and  were  readily  obtained  by  the  skilled  riflemen, 
and  nearly  all  the  male  portion  of  the  early  settlers,  even 
down  to  quite  youthful  lads,  were  skilled  in  the  use  of  that 
weapon.  There  was  also  a sufficient  supply  of  hogs  for 


“ OLD  SETTLERS.” 


3*5 

the  times, — some  brought  with  them  by  the  settlers,  and 
some  procured  from  Indians,  a few  of  whom  followed 
farming  rather  than  the  chase,  and  hence  had  procured 
quite  a number  of  semi-tame  hogs,  which,  when  joined  to 
those  brought  by  the  settlers,  furnished  an  ample  supply 
of  pork  and  a live  stock  to  start  with.  The  woods  in  every 
direction  were  pretty  well  supplied  with  hogs  which  had 
strayed  away  from  the  Indians,  and  with  their  increase 
had  become  thoroughly  wild.  These  hogs,  both  tame  and 
wild,  were  called  elm-eaters,  and  were  peculiarly  suited 
to  the  times  and  condition  of  things  where  they  existed. 
They  were  long-legged,  long-bodied,  had  extremely  long 
heads  and  noses,  with  short,  straight  up  ears,  and  would, 
at  this  age,  present  a sorry  picture  at  a show  of  improved 
swine,  but  at  the  time  answered  a valuable  purpose.  The 
wild  hogs  could  only  be  made  available  during  “mast” 
years,  which,  although  occurring  oftener  then  than  now, 
did  not  occur  every  year,  by  reason  of  which  many  of 
these  wild  hogs  lived  to  become  three  and  four  years  old 
before  they  would  become  sufficiently  fat  to  make  it  an 
object  to  hunt  and  kill  them. 

They  thus  became  fleet  of  foot  and  very  savage,  making 
their  presence  at  times  extremely  unpleasant  and  danger- 
ous to  the  hunter,  who  had  frequently  to  take  to  the  near- 
est available  tree  for  safety.  During  the  non-mast  years 
these  hogs  lived  upon  various  kinds  of  roots  they  found  in 
the  woods,  which  they  obtained  by  rooting  with  the  long 
noses  above  mentioned.  The  principal  root  upon  which 
they  thus  subsisted,  so  far  as  my  recollection  serves  me, 
was  the  sweet  or  slippery  elm,  of  the  bark  and  fibrous 
roots  of  which  they  (as  are  all  hogs)  were  very  fond. 
Hence  the  name,  elm-eaters.  There  was  no  hog  cholera 
in  those  times,  nor  do  I recollect  oP  any  while  the  hogs  of 
the  country  had  plenty  of  woodland  to  range  over — not  in 
even  the  modern  improved  breeds. 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


386 

While  on  a hunting  excursion  during  the  fall  just  past, 
in  passing  through  quite  a large  wood-pasture  I discovered 
the  bark  of  a large  number  of  these  sweet  elm  trees  peeled 
from  the  ground  up  to  the  distance  of  about  two  feet,  the 
trees  being  thus  killed.  I asked  the  owner,  with  whom  I 
was  well  acquainted,  what  so  peeled  his  trees  ; to  which 
he  replied,  his  hogs.  I then  asked  him  whether  his  hogs 
had  ever  had  the  cholera,  to  which  he  replied,  never 
among  any  that  had  been  confined  to  this  woodland, 
although  his  neighbor  across  the  way,  whose  hogs  had 
no  such  range,  had  frequently  lost  large  numbers  by  that 
disease.  Query — Did  the  elm  bark  have  anything  to  do 
in  preventing  the  cholera  from  visiting  the  hogs  of  the 
owner  of  this  piece  of  woodland? 

To  return  to  the  wild  hogs : When  fattened  on  mast, 
particularly  hickory  and  beech,  the  meat  was  very  oily 
and  sweet,  would  shrink  largely  in  cooking,  and,  owing 
to  its  oily  nature,  would  not  make  bacon  to  advantage. 
This  meat,  however,  answered  a valuable  purpose  in  its 
time.  The  capture  of  these  wild  hogs,  although  attended 
with  some  danger,  offered  to  the  sportsman  of  that  day  a 
considerable  amount  of  real  enjoyment  which  the  present 
generation  of  sportsmen  can  never  appreciate  or  enjoy. 

Fish,  which  abounded  in  great  numbers,  and  of  the  very 
best  kind,  such  as  bass,  salmon,  pike,  buffalo,  redhorse, 
etc.,  in  White  river  and  all  its  tributary  streams,  and  were 
easily  captured  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  entered  as  largely 
as  was  desired  into  the  food  of  the  settlers. 

Potatoes  were  raised  the  first  year  of  the  settlement  in 
considerable  quantities  and  of  the  very  best  quality,  the 
new  soil  being  better  adapted  to  their  growth  and  perfec- 
tion than  that  in  long  use.  This  valuable  article  soon  en- 
tered and  formed  a part  of  the  food  supply. 

Owing  to  the  rich  and  wild  nature  of  the  soil,  wheat 
could  not  be  grown  to  advantage  for  several  years,  hence 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


387 

all  flour  used  had  to  be  brought  from  abroad,  mostly  from 
the  Whitewater  country,  and  was  consequently  very  ex- 
pensive— so  much  so  that  but  little  was  used.  When  used 
it  was  considered  a great  luxury.  It  may  not  be  wholly 
out  of  place  here  to  briefly  describe  the  manner  and  by 
what  means  the  cooking  of  the  food,  other  than  bread,  was 
done  in  those  early  times.  It  was  done  somewhat  in  this 
wise  : For  the  purpose  of  boiling,  a stiff  bar  or  rod  of  iron- 
wood  (when  iron  could  not  be  had)  was  placed  in  the 
chimney  lengthwise  across  the  fire-place,  the  end  resting 
upon  the  outer  walls,  about  midway  from  front  to  rear, 
upon  which  were  placed  several  hooks  made  of  small  iron 
rods,  or  of  wood  when  iron  could  not  be  obtained,  and  of 
different  lengths,  the  whole  being  of  sufficient  height  that 
the  pots,  or  stew  kettles,  as  they  were  sometimes  called, 
when  hung  upon  these  hooks  would  swing  free  of  the  fire 
underneath  ; in  these  pots  or  kettles  were  all  boiled  vict- 
uals cooked.  For  the  purpose  of  roasting  meats  a strong 
wooden  pin  was  placed  in  the  inner  wall  of  the  house  im- 
mediately over  the  middle  of  the  large  open  fire-place. 
The  turkey  or  venison  saddle  (both  of  which  were  largely 
used),  or  other  meat  to  be  roasted,  was  fastened  to  the 
end  of  a small  cord  (wire  when  it  could  be  had),  of  suffi- 
cient length,  so  that  when  the  other  end  was  fastened  to 
the  pin  in  the  wall  the  meat  to  be  roasted  would  hang  sus- 
pended immediately  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  so  near  that 
the  heat  would  soon  cook  the  part  near  the  fire,  and  by 
occasional  turnings  the  whole  would  soon  become  well 
cooked — a pan  or  dish  of  some  kind  being  always  under- 
neath to  receive  the  dropping  grease  or  oil. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  great  abundance  of  wild  game  in 
this  section  of  the  country  at  that  early  day,  and  the  easy 
manner  of  capturing  the  same,  it  is  only  necessary  for,me 
to  state  that  Robert  Harding,  one  of  the  very  early  settlers 
named  in  my  former  sketch,  during  the  summer  of  the  year 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


388 

1820,  on  one  occasion  pushed  his  canoe  containing  his  hunt- 
ing material  from  the  mouth  of  Fall  creek  (near  which  he 
was  living)  up  the  river  to  a point  about  the  fourth  of  a mile 
below  where  the  bridge  across  White  river  on  the  Mich- 
igan road  is  situated,  being  about  five  miles  north  of  Fall 
creek,  from  which  point  he  started  homeward  about  10 
o’clock  p.  m.,  and  on  his  way  home  killed  nine  deer,  all 
bucks,  having  determined  that  night  to  kill  nothing  but 
bucks.  On  another  occasion,  during  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  he  and  his  brother  Eliakim,  who  had  by  this  time 
joined  him,  at  a point  near  where  the  pork-houses  of 
Kingan  and  Ferguson  now  stand,  killed  thirty-seven  tur- 
keys out  of  one  flock,  Robert  killing  twenty-five  and  Eli- 
akim twelve.  This  kind  of  slaughter  was  not  frequent, 
but  the  killing  of  three  or  four  deer,  a half  dozen  to  a 
dozen  turkeys  and  fifteen  or  twenty  pheasants  by  a single 
person  in  a single  day  or  night  hunt  (deer  being  mostly 
killed  in  the  night-time)  was  not  unfrequent. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  early  settlers  were  very  far 
from  a state  of  starvation — that,  on  the  contrary,  they  had 
a sufficient  supply  of  good,  substantial,  wholesome  food — 
a considerable  portion  of  the  meat  used  by  them  being 
such  as  would  now,  if  it  could  be  had,  be  considered  a 
great  luxury.  Robert  B.  Duncan. 

"January  18 , 18  yg. 


OLD  SETTLERS’  PAPERS.  No.. 3. 


In  the  two  preceding  numbers  of  these  sketches  I gave 
a brief  account  of  what  the  food  supply  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  this  part  of  central  Indiana  consisted,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  was  prepared  for  use,  etc.  In  this  number 
I shall  attempt  to  show  how  and  wherewith  these  early 
settlers  were  clothed  during  the  first  few  years.  Antici- 
pating some  difficulty  and  inconvenience  upon  that  subject, 
the  settlers  brought  with  them  such  a supply  of  substan- 
tial clothing,  or  the  material  out  of  which  to  make  the  same, 
as  their  pecuniary  circumstances  seemed  to  justify,  being 
in  quantity  and  quality  what  was  considered  sufficient  for 
one  year’s  supply,  and  suited  to  the  changes  of  the  sea- 
sons. Next  to  a food  supply,  the  industry  of  the  settlers 
was  directed  to  the  production  of  the  material  out  of  which 
the  future  supply  of  clothing  was  to  be  manufactured  ; 
hence,  at  a very  early  period,  and  as  soon  as  sufficient  land 
could  be  cleared,  inclosed  and  made  ready  for  the  seed, 
near  every  farm-house  could  be  seen  a growing  flax  patch. 
This  flax,  when  fully  grown,  was  pulled  and  spread  upon 
the  same  ground  to  rot,  which  process  was  soon  accom- 
plished by  the  dampness  occasioned  by  the  rains  and  the 
nightly  dews.  When  sufficiently  rotted  that  the  woody 
fiber  could  be  readily  broken  and  separated  from  the  lint 
fiber,  the  whole  was  gathered  up,  and,  after  being  dried, 
was,  by  the  hands  of  the  stronger  of  the  male  portion  of 
the  family,  broken  bv  the  use  of  a kind  of  improvised  ma- 

(389) 


39° 


“OLD  SETTLERS  .” 


chine  called  a “ flax-brake,”  whereby  the  woody  fibers 
would  become  thoroughly  broken  and  mostly  removed  from 
the  lint  fiber,  the  remainder  being  removed,  by  the  whole 
lint  fabric  undergoing  a process  called  “ skutching,”  the 
lint  at  the  same  time  undergoing  a softening  process,  pre- 
paring it  for  the  hand  of  the  spinstress. 

By  the  process  of  what  was  called  “ hacking,”  in  vogue 
in  those  times,  the  tow  was  separated  from  the  thread  fiber, 
and  by  the  use  of  the  spinning  wheel  (the  little  wheel),  in 
the  handling  of  which  the  mothers  and  all  daughters  of 
sufficient  age  were  skilled,  the  flax  was  made  into  a fine, 
strong  thread,  called  warp,  and  the  *tow  into  a coarser 
thread,  used  as  “filling.”  When  thus  prepared,  by  the 
use  of  a hand-loom,  it  was  woven  into  a fabric  called  tow- 
linen.  This  was  used  for  summer  wear  to  a considerable 
extent  by  both  sexes — that  by  the  females  being  generally 
colored  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  wearer ; that  worn  by  the 
males  was  left  uncolored. 

As  a means  of  providing  for  winter  apparel,  all  settlers 
that  could  do  so  provided  themselves  with  a few  sheep,  from 
which  they  procured  wool ; and  those  who  could  not  pro- 
cure sheep  managed  to  purchase  wool,  which  the  good 
mothers  and  daughters  manufactured  into  rolls  by  the  aid 
of  a pair  of  hand-cards  particularly  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose and  owned  by  most  families.  These  rolls  were  soon 
spun  into  yarn  by  the  same  hands  on  what  was  called  the 
“ big  wheel,”  making  “ filling  ” (sometimes  used  for  knit- 
ting stockings),  and  when  mixed  with  linen  warp  and 
woven,  made  an  article  called  “ linsey  woolsey,”  which, 
when  suitably  colored,  made  a strong,  warm,  and  rather 
handsome  article  of  female  apparel,  and  was  considerably 
used.  This  same  woolen  yarn,  when  woven  in  connection 
with  cotton  warp,  made  what  was  called  “jeans,”  and 
was  used  by  the  males,  mostly  the  older  class,  and  was 
generally  colored,  oftener  butternut  than  blue.  Some  cot- 


“OLD  SETTLERS 39 1 

ton  goods,  such  as  cambrics,  muslins,  and  such,  were  ap- 
propriately used  by  both  sexes,  but  owing  to  their  scarcity 
and  consequent  high  price,  their  use  was  quite  limited. 
The  outer  apparel  of  the  male  population,  particularly  the 
younger  and  more  active,  soon  became  buckskin.  This 
material  was  frequently  procured  already  tanned  by  pur- 
chase from  the  Indians,  but  more  frequently  by  the  party 
killing  the  deer,  dressing  and  tanning  the  skin  himself,  and 
thus  making  it  ready  for  the  tailor.  Usually  the  only  ar- 
ticles of  clothing  made  of  this  material  were  pantaloons 
and  coats,  called  in  these  times  “hunting  shirts,”  being 
much  in  the  shape  and  style,  barring  the  neat  fit,  of  the 
sack  coat  so  much  in  use  among  the  gentlemen  of  the  pres- 
ent time. 

There  being  no  professional  tailors  in  the  beginning  of 
the  settlement,  and  for  some  considerable  time  after,  and 
this  material  being  rather  difficult  for  the  seamstresses  to 
handle,  the  thread  used  in  its  manufacture  being  the  sinews 
taken  from  the  legs  of  the  deer  or  a thread  called  “ whang,” 
prepared  by  cutting  a long  strip  as  small  as  possible,  so  as 
not  to  make  it  too  weak  for  the  purpose  intended,  a large 
needle  and  a shoemaker’s  awl  being  used  in  the  sewing 
process,  each  person,  old  or  young,  having  a sufficient 
skill,  was  under  the  necessity  of  making  his  own  clothes. 

This  was  generally  done  in  a strong,  substantial  man- 
ner, and  when  skillfully  performed  presented  a very  gen- 
teel appearance. 

When  not  so  prepared  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  here 
and  at  this  late  day  to  say  more  on  the  subject  of  appear- 
ance. 

It  was  soon  found  that  this  buckskin  apparel  was  the 
very  best  that  could  have  been  devised  for  the  country  and 
times.  It  resisted  the  sting  of  the  nettles,  the  scratch  of 
the  briers,  the  bite  of  the  rattlesnake,  and  the  penetration 


“ OLD  SETTLERS 


392 

of  the  cold,  bleak  winds  of  winter,  and  at  that  time  was 
cheap  and  within  the  reach  of  all. 

This  kind  of  Clothing,  as  in  fact  all  other,  was  made  quite 
large  so  that  the  wearer  would  feel  free  and  easy  in  its  use. 
The  consequence  of  this  was  that  at  times  in  right  cold 
weather  the  wearer  would  stand  so  close  to  the  large  log 
fire  that,  without  being  conscious  of  it,  his  pants  would 
get  so  hot  that  when  suddenly  pressed  to  his  person  by  a 
mischievous  associate,  the  warmth  would  cause  him  to  leap 
clear  across  the  room  under  the  impression  that  the  great 
log  fire  had  fallen  upon  him.  Another  peculiarity  attached 
to  this  kind  of  pantaloons  was  that  when  wet,  and  allowed 
to  dry  without  constant  rubbing,  they  became  quite  hard 
and  remained  in  the  shape  last  left,  and  could  not  again 
be  used  until  made  soft  by  dampening. 

Indian-made  moccasins, which  were  abundant  and  cheap, 
were  much  worn  by  both  sexes  (particularly  the  younger 
and  more  active  class)  in  dry  weather  both  winter  and 
summer,  being  very  comfortable  and  pleasant  to  the  feet 
and  presenting  a rather  neat  appearance.  For  wet  weath- 
er strong,  well  made  leather  shoes  were  used.  Bare  feet 
were  quite  as  seldom  seen  then  as  now.  The  head-dress 
for  the  male  population  for  winter  use  consisted  mostly  of 
a strong,  wrell  made  wool  hat  with  a low,  broadbrim  some- 
thing in  the  style  of  the  hat  in  use  by  the  elder  of  the 
Quakers  at  this  time.  A rather  unsightly  but  very  warm 
kind  of  fur  cap  was  used  by  some,  made  out  of  a well  pre- 
pared coon  skin.  For  summer  wear,  a rather  rough  home- 
made straw  hat  was  made  out  of  the  straw  of  rye,  which 
was  considerably  grown  for  that  purpose — the  hat  being 
very  much  in  appearance  and  style  of  similar  hats  now  in 
use.  The  female  head-dress  consisted  in  part  of  a straw 
bonnet  made  of  the  same  kind  of  straw  and  in  part  of  a 
sunbonnet  generally  made  out  of  some  kind  of  fancy  col- 
ored calico  worked  over  a stiff  pasteboard  ; both  straw  and 


“OLD  SETTLERS .” 


393 


sunbonnets  being  of  a style  then  in  use,  and  of  such  shape 
and  construction  as  to  protect  both  the  face  and  neck  from 
the  hot  rays  of  the  summer  sun  and  the  cold  blasts  of  the 
winter  winds.  Doubtless  some  other  and  more  fancy  kinds 
of  head-dresses  were  procured  from  the  merchants.  But 
as  nearly  three  score  years  have  passed  since  that  time, 
and  as  my  youthful  observations  may  have  been,  and 
doubtless  were,  more  closely  directed  to  the  goodly  feat- 
ures and  bright  eyes  of  the  fair  wearers  than  to  the  par- 
ticular style  of  the  head-dress,  I do  not  feel  competent  nor 
do  I consider  it  my  duty  at  this  late  day  to  more  particu- 
larly describe  the  style  of  head-dress  then  in  use.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  it  was  sufficient  to  so  protect  the  wearers  that 
eye-glasses  were  not  necessary,  nor  were  they  used  by 
young  ladies,  either  for  the  protection  or  concealment  of 
their  eyes  ; nor  was  the  use  of  starch  necessary  to  give  the 
countenance  a light  and  fair  appearance. 

While  there  was  very  little  money  in  circulation  among 
the  settlers,  there  was  a valuable  substitute  to  those  who 
availed  themselves  of  it,  consisting  of  the  fur  skins  of  the 
raccoon  and  muskrat  and  the  skin  of  the  deer,  all  of  which 
animals  were  quite  plenty.  A good  deer  skin  taken  in 
its  season  was  worth  fifty  cents  ; that  of  a raccoon  thirty- 
seven  and  a half  cents,  and  that  of  the  muskrat  twenty- 
five  cents,  in  trade — the  proper  season  for  taking  the  deer 
with  a view  to  the  value  of  the  skin  being  from  about  May 
ist  to  the  middle  of  November;  that  of  the  raccoon  and 
muskrat  from  December  ist  to  April  ist.  There  was, 
therefore,  but  a very  small  portion  of  the  year  that  the 
skilled  hunter  and  trapper  could  not  in  that  way  and  with- 
out any  considerable  loss  of  time  procure  means  by  which 
to  furnish  himself  and  his  family,  if  he  had  one,  with  such 
articles  of  merchandise  as  were  necessary  and  as  the  stores 
of  that  early  day  could  furnish.  All  seemed  to  have  had 
enough,  when  properly  used,  to  answer  reasonable  wants. 


394 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


The  fashion  for  ladies’  dresses  in  those  primitive  times 
was  plain,  neat,  and  of  such  easy,  genteel  fit  as  to  allow  the 
free  use  of  all  muscles  and  limbs  of  the  wearer.  There  were 
no  such  distorting  and  torturing  fashions  then  as  we  see 
at  the  present  time,  in  which  the  wearer  of  what  is  called 
a fashionable  dress  is  compelled  to  appear  upon  the  streets 
and  highways  ; a dress  which  is  in  any  shape  but  the 
proper  one,  and  in  which  the  powers  of  locomotion  and 
physical  action  of  the  fair  wearer  are  greatly  abridged  and 
restrained  with  a train  (more  properly  speaking  a mop) 
attached,  and  unavoidably  collecting  the  filth  of  the  streets 
and  highways,  and  produced  at  a cost  which,  if  properly 
made  with  a view  to  neatness  and  economy,  would  have 
furnished  two  dresses  of  the  same  material  at  the  cost  of 
one.  False  fashions  too  often  make  hard  times.  A semi- 
return to  the  fashions  and  habits  of  industry  and  economy, 
of  the  descendants  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  our  goodly 
land  might  prove  both  wise  and  beneficial  at  this  age  and 
time.  Robert  B.  Duncan. 

' January  25,  1879. 


OLD  SETTLERS’  PAPERS.  No.  4. 


As  there  were  no  pre-emption  laws  in  existence  when  the 
settlement  of  central  Indiana  commenced,  nor  when  the 
lands  were  brought  into  market  and  sold,  the  permanent 
settlement  and  improvement  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
commenced  until  the  completion  of  the  survey  and  the 
lands  had  been  offered  for  sale  at  public  auction,  and  when 
such  as  remained  unsold  were  subject  to  private  entry, 
which  did  not  take  place  until  the  fall  of  1821,  although 
prior  to  that  time  quite  a number  of  families  had  settled 
(squatted)  upon  certain  tracts  of  land,  built  cabins,  and 
cleared  up  a number  of  acres  upon  which  they  had  raised 
or  were  raising  corn,  vegetables,  etc.,  for  family  use,  trust- 
ing to  Providence  and  the  mutual  understanding  among 
the  settlers  that  the  occupant  should  have  the  first  right 
and  chance  to  purchase  the  tract  so  occupied  and  improved. 
In  most  instances  the  occupant  got  the  land  occupied  ; but 
occasionally  an  ungodly  sinner,  with  more  money  than  the 
settler,  who  did  not  expect  to  become  a citizen  and  occu- 
pant of  the  land,  but  purchased  purely  for  speculation, 
would  out-bid  the  occupant  and  take  from  him  both  land 
and  improvements. 

This  was  not  the  safest  way  in  which  speculation  could 
be  made,  and  not  much  of  it  was  done.  Yet  the  uncer- 
tainty thus  caused  prevented  any  more  improvements  from 
being  made  than  were  absolutely  necessary  for  the  shelter 
and  subsistence  of  the  settler  and  his  family  until  he  knew 

(395) 


“OLD  SETTLERS.” 


396 

whose  land  he  was  improving.  There  were  no  tramps, 
“vags,”  or  persons  of  evil  repute  in  the  country  at  that 
early  date.  The  dependence  upon  each  other  caused  dif- 
ferences of  education  and  station  to  disappear,  and  almost 
absolute  social  equality  prevailed  ; hence  every  person  felt 
that  he  or  she  was  the  social  equal  of  every  other  person, 
each  being  ready  and  willing  at  all  times  to  assist  others  to 
the  extent  of  his  or  her  power,  the  latch-string  always 
hanging  out. 

The  first  business  of  the  settler,  after  making  his  loca- 
tion, was  to  cut  off  and  remove  all  the  large  timber  from  a 
few  acres  upon  which  his  cabin  was  to  be  built.  Cabins  in 
those  early  times  were  built  entirely  of  round  logs,  from 
eight  to  ten  inches  in  diameter,  and  of  lengths  to  suit  the 
builder,  and  were  covered  with  clapboards.  Where  the 
family  was  large,  cabins  were  in  size  about  eighteen  by 
twenty-five  feet,  one  nine-foot  story,  with  a rather  low  gar- 
ret bed-room  above ; where  the  family  was  small,  the 
building  was  generally  about  eighteen  feet  square,  with 
garret-room.  Cabins  generally  had  but  one  door  and  one 
window,  but  occasionally  the  larger  sized  had  two  of  each. 
The  chimney  and  fire-place  were  always  on  the  outside  of 
the  house,  thus  allowing  the  full  internal  dimensions  for 
the  use  of  the  family.  The  material  being  made  ready 
and  placed  on  the  ground  where  the  building  was  to  be 
erected,  a day  was  fixed  for  the  “ raising.”  To  this  all 
the  settlers  for  several  miles  around  were  invited  and  at- 
tended, it  being  understood  that  all  were  needed.  There 
was  no  shirking  : “ Help  me  and  I will  help  you  ; ” “ Re- 
fuse to  help  me  and  you  are  no  neighbor,  and  you  might 
as  well  leave.”  On  the  day  thus  appointed  the  cabin  was 
generally  raised  and  put  under  roof.  Cutting  out  places 
for  doors,  windows  and  fire-place,  putting  in  the  doors  and 
windows,  building  the  fire-place  and  stick  chimney,  laying 


“OLD  SETTLERS  ” 


397 


the  puncheon  floors,  chinking  and  daubing  up  the  cracks 
between  the  logs,  were  done  by  the  owner  at  his  pleasure. 

Log  barns  and  out-houses  were  added  as  soon  as  it  could 
be  done  without  too  much  of  a drain  upon  the  industry  of 
the  neighbors.  These  log  cabins  were  very  plain  structures, 
but  were  such  as  early  settlers  could  possess  themselves  of, 
and  when  properly  constructed,  made  a strong  and  toler- 
ably comfortable  place  to  live  in,  much  warmer  and  more 
substantial  than  many  of  the  frame  houses  of  the  present 
time.  Into  these  humble  dwellings  did  the  settlers  and 
their  families  enter,  and  for  many  years  live,  more  con- 
tented and  happy,  doubtless, 'than  many  now  living  in  ele- 
gant and  costly  stone  fronts. 

The  next  thing  in  order  was  for  the  settler,  with  all  his 
available  force,  which  frequently  included  his  wife  or 
daughter,  and  sometimes  both,  to  clear  off  an  eligible  piece 
of  land  upon  which  to  plant  a young  orchard,  all  timber 
being  removed  from  this  piece.  Here,  as  soon  as  the  trees 
could  be  procured,  was  planted  a small  orchard.  A few 
of  these  orchards,  now  more  than  half  a century  old,  can 
still  be  seen  standing,  the  hands  that  planted  them  having 
long  since  passed  from  earth,  and  the  trees  showing  the 
damaging  effects  of  time.  This  land  was  generally  cultk 
vated  in  corn  or  other  crops  for  several  years. 

The  next  thing  in  order  in  the  clearing  process  was  to 
deaden  the  timber  upon  a number  of  acres  of  the  land  to 
be  improved,  and  then  as  fast  as  possible  to  clear  up  and 
put  into  cultivation  as  many  acres  each  year  as  possible, 
this  additional  clearing  being  generally  done  by  grubbing 
out  all  underbrush  and  cutting  down  all 'timber  having  a 
diameter  of  eighteen  inches  at  a height  of  two  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  all  of  a less  size,  all  brush  being  burned, 
and  the  logs  cut  into  suitable  lengths  for  heaping  and 
burning.  Generally  several  acres  on  each  farm  were  thus 
prepared  during  the  winter.  When  thus  prepared,  a “log- 


“OLD  SETTLERS 


398 

rolling”  was  provided  for  and  a day  fixed  to  which  all  the 
neighbors  were  invited.  Sometimes  the  good  wife  would 
have  connected  with  the  “ log-rolling  ” a “bed-quilting,” 
to  which  all  the  women  folk  were  invited  and  attended. 
This  was  frequently  the  occasion  of  much  merriment  and 
real  enjoyment,  winding  up  with  a jolly  dance,  commonly 
called  a “hoe-down.”  Thus  from  time  to  time  for  sev- 
eral years  as  new  settlers  would  come  in  and  purchase 
pieces  of  heavily  timbered  land,  went  on  this  routine  of 
house  raisings,  log-rollings,  quiltings  and  dances. 

Corn  husking,  coupled  with  quiltings,  and  winding  up 
with  dances,  soon  became  an  additional  means  of  calling 
the  settlers  of  both  sexes  together,  particularly  the  younger. 

This  part  of  the  country  being  so  far  interior  and  ap- 
proached only  through  the  wilderness  without  roads,  the 
early  settlers  were  only  able  to  bring  with  them  such  ar- 
ticles of  furniture  as  they  could  not  get  along  well  without, 
and  such  as  were  light  and  not  easily  broken  by  the  rough 
usage  to  which  they  would  necessarily  be  subjected. 
Hence  the  household  and  kitchen  furniture  generally  con- 
sisted of  a reasonable  supply  of  plain,  substantial  articles, 
embracing  one  or  more  feather  beds,  with  the  requisite 
bedding,  a substantial  set  of  pewter  wear,  etc.  The 
greatest  deficiency  was  in  bedsteads,  tables  and  chairs, 
there  being  no  cabinet  makers  in  the  country,  and  no 
prepared  material  for  them  to  work  on  had  there  been  any. 
The  first  settlers  were  under  the  necessity  of  procuring 
these  articles,  or  rather  substitutes,  for  themselves,  which 
they  did  in  about  this  wise:  For  bedsteads,  an  oak  tree 
that  would  split  Veil  was  selected,  cut  down,  and  a log 
about  eight  feet  long  taken  from  the  butt  and  split  into 
such  pieces  as  could  be  readily  shaped  into  posts  and  rails. 
Another  log  not  so  long  was  split  into  such  pieces  as,  with 
slight  dressing,  made  slats.  Holes  were  bored  with  a tol- 
erably large  auger  in  suitable  places  in  the  posts  for  in- 


“ OLD  SETTLERS ” 


399 


serting  the  rails  ; two  rails  were  used  for  each  side,  and 
about  three  for  each  end,  the  end  rails  answering  for  head 
and  foot  boards.  Like  auger  holes  were  made  in  the  lower 
side  rails  at  suitable  points  for  inserting  the  slats.  When 
properly  prepared  this  bedstead  was  put  together  by  press- 
ing the  rails  and  slats  in  the  holes  prepared  for  each,  thus 
making  a rough  but  strong  high-post  bedstead,  the  posts 
at  the  top  being  tightly  held  together  by  rods  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  upon  which  curtains  were  to  be  hung.  Thus 
was  created  a bedstead.  Generally  two  of  these  were  used 
in  each  of  the  larger  sized  cabins,  placed  in  the  rear  end 
of  the  cabin,  so  as  to  stand  lengthwise  with  the  end  wall 
feet  to  feet,  with  a space  of  several  feet  between  beds. 
Curtains  made  of  fancy  colored  calico  were  always 
hung  upon  these  bedsteads,  hiding  from  external  view  the 
deformities  of  the  bedstead,  presenting  a rather  neat  ap- 
pearance and  making  the  beds  quite  private.  Usually  the 
old  folks  occupied  one  and  the  girls  the  other  of  these 
beds.  For  the  boys  and  young  men  sleeping  places  were 
provided  upstairs  upon  beds  on  the  floor,  there  not  being 
sufficient  space  between  the  floor  and  roof  for  bedsteads. 

A rough  kind  of  cupboard  was  provided  in  all  cabins  by 
boring  auger  holes  and  driving  strong  wood  pins  in  the 
logs  in  the  most  convenient  corner  and  in  such  position 
that  when  boards  (clapboards,  in  the  beginning),  were . 
placed  upon  them  would  furnish  a rather  convenient  but 
not  very  sightly  place  upon  which  to  put  the  dishes.  Being 
always  open  to  view,  the  tendency  was  to  cleanliness. 
For  tables,  a large  tree  was  cut  down,  and  a log,  the 
length  desired  for  the  table,  was  cut  off  and  split  into 
pieces  (slabs)  as  thin  as  possible.  These  slabs  were  gen- 
erally two  feet  in  width  and  six  feet  in  length ; when 
dressed  and  made  as  thin  and  smooth  as  possible  two 
were  put  together  with  strong  cross  pieces  tightly  pinned 
with  wood  pins,  the  whole  set  upon  four  strong  legs,  thus 


400 


“ OLD  SETTLERS.” 


making  a strong  but  rough  table  four  feet  in  width  and  six 
feet  in  length,  the  size  of  the  table  being  governed  by  the 
size  of  the  family.  For  seats  benches  were  made  of  the 
same  material  as  the  table,  about  fifteen  inches  wide,  some 
the  full  length  of  the  tables,  others  not  longer  than  two  feet 
each,  standing  upon  four  strong  wood  legs  ; these  were 
provided  in  such  numbers  as  were  desired. 

This  rough  furniture  necessarily  continued  in  use  until 
saw  mills  came  into  existence  and  cabinet  makers  and 
chair  makers  made  their  appearance  in  the  land.  Then 
the  bedstead  gave  way  to  those  of  better  style  and  finish, 
but  the  curtains  were  retained  ; the  rough  tables  gave  way 
to  those  more  elegant  and  convenient  made  by  skilled 
workmen,  and  the  benches  and  stools  gave  place  to  the 
current  chair.  Several  years  were  required  to  bring  about 
this  change. 

The  system  of  settlement  and  improvement  thus  com- 
menced was  continued  with  such  changes  as  increased 
numbers  and  wealth  from  time  to  time  made  proper  and 
necessary  until  the  spot  which  in  the  beginning  was  an 
unoccupied  and  dense  wilderness  became  the  beautiful 
railroad  city,  with  a population  numbering  one  hundred 
thousand.  The  surrounding  country  having  been  opened 
up  became  a land  of  great  plenty  and  beauty. 

Much  has  been  spoken  and  written  about  the  sickly 
character  of  this  country  at  the  commencement  of  the  set- 
tlement and  for  many  years  after,  much  of  the  alleged 
sickness  being  attributed  to  the  log  cabins  in  which  fam- 
ilies had  to  live,  cook,  eat  and  sleep  in  the  same  room, 
much  more  than  was  warranted  or  justified  by  the  facts. 
On  account  of  the  malaria  created  by  the  decaying  timber 
caused  by  clearing  up  the  country,  the  annual  decay  of 
the  rank  growth  of  wild  vegetation,  turning  up  and  ex- 
posing to  the  hot  sun  the  new  soil,  and  the  undrained 
condition  of  the  country,  there  was  unavoidably  some  sick- 


“OLD  SETTLERS ” 


401 


ness  of  a malarial  character  here  in  early  times,  as  there 
has  been  and  will  continue  to  be  in  all  new  countries  hav- 
ing a rich  and  productive  soil,  as  this  had  ; but  the  amount 
was  not  half  as  great  as  charged,  nor  was  the  fact  that 
whole  families  lived,  cooked,  ate  and  slept,  summer  and 
winter,  in  the  cabin  with  one  room  below  and  a garret  bed- 
room above,  the  cause  of  the  sickness,  when  sickness  did 
exist.  The  fact  that  the  settlers,  by  reason  of  their  scanty 
house  room,  were  constantly  brought  into  contact  with  the 
purified  atmosphere  created  by  the  heat  of  the  fire  neces- 
sarily used,  protected  them  from  the  malarial  diseases  so 
much  complained  of.  The  facts  were  that  in  those  early 
times  numbers  of  persons  and  families  came  to  this  new 
country  from  older  states  and  thickly  settled  neighbor- 
hoods where  they  had  neighbors  and  associates  and  plenty 
of  them,  and  who  from  habits  of  life  were  not  suited  to  the 
changed  condition  in  which  they  were  placed  by  the  re- 
moval. As  a consequence  they  became  disappointed,  dis- 
satisfied, and  were  seized  with  a constant  desire  to  return 
to  the  country  and  place  from  which  they  came  ; in  other 
words  they  became  “ homesick.”  No  little  of  the  alleged 
sickness  consisted  purely  of  this  homesickness,  and  readily 
disappeared  when  the  afflicted  got  back  to  the  happy  land 
from  which  they  had  so  unwisely  emigrated.  Occasionally 
these  unfortunates  fretted  and  worried  themselves  into  a 
real  spell  of  sickness.  As  might  have  been  expected,  there 
was  some  sickness  in  those  early  times,  which,  as  I have 
always  believed,  was  greatly  aggravated  by  the  ignorance 
of  some  of  the  earlier  doctors.  The  physicians  who  first 
came  amongst  us  seemed  to  be  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
malarial  diseases  peculiar  to  the  country.  They  generally 
provided  themselves  with  a goodly  supply  of  the  largest 
and  most  approved  lancets  and  unmeasured  quantities  of 
English  calomel.  With  these  evidences  of  medical  skill, 
a flaming  sign,  painted  on  a clapboard,  was  hung  out,  and 


402 


“OLD  SETTLERS  ” 


as  opportunity  offered  these  men  of  science  and  great  med- 
ical skill  went  forth  first  to  take  from  the  unfortunate  pa- 
tient all  the  blood  that  could  be  extracted  from  his  veins 
without  killing  on  the  spot,  then  was  dosed  out  calomel 
enough  to  kill  the  largest  sized  gorilla,  which  the  patient 
was  required  to  take  in  doses  indicated.  He  was  to  be 
kept  confined  in  a close  room  so  that  not  a breath  of  pure, 
cool  air  could  fan  his  cheeks  or  kiss  his  lips,  and  was  to 
have  neither  meat  nor  drink,  warm  water  alone  excepted. 
This  practice,  while  it  lasted,  greatly  aggravated  disease. 
It  killed  quick  but  cured  slow.  It  was  far  less  skillful 
than  that  practiced  by  the  Indian  doctors.  Happily  this 
ignorance  was  not  winked  at  and  soon  gave  way  to  a more 
intelligent  and  health  restoring  system,  not,  however,  un- 
til some  of  those  practicing  it  had  justly  subjected  them- 
selves to  the  soubriquet  of  “ Death  on  the  Pale  Horse.” 

Not  quite  three  score  years  have  passed  since  the  settle- 
ment of  this  part  of  central  Indiana  commenced.  Yet  all 
those  who  settled  as  early  as  the  spring  of  1820,  and  who 
at  the  time  of  settlement  had  attained  the  age  of  manhood 
and  womanhood,  have  passed  from  earth.  A few  of  their 
children  who  at  the  time  of  settlement  had  not  in  point  of 
age  attained  their  teens,  still  remain  living  witnesses  of 
the  great  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  that  time. 
The  fingers  upon  the  good  right  hand  would  be  sufficient 
to  number  them  all.  As  to  these  also  will  soon  be  verified 
the  truth  of  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  when  he  said  : 
'“For  man  his  days  are  as  grass.  As  a flower  of  the  field, 
so  he  flourisheth  ; for  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is 
gone  ; and  the  place  thereof  shall  know  it  no  more.” 

February  /,  18  j 9.  Robert  B.  Duncan. 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 
volume  II.  Number  ii. 


DOCUMENTS 


RELATING  TO  THE 

French  Settlements 

ON  THE 

WABASH. 


JACOB  PIATT  DUNN. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 

18S4. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  following  papers  relate  to  Vincennes  and  the  Wa- 
bash country,  and  more  or  less  to  the  entire  Ohio  valley. 
They  almost  cover  the  period  of  English  possession  of  this 
part  of  the  United  States,  the  first  being  the  last  orders  of 
the  last  French  commandant  of  Post  Vincennes,  and  the 
last  being  a letter  of  the  last  English  commandant.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Gage  correspondence  and  papers  they 
are  arranged  in  order  of  date.  The  Gage  papers,  beginning 
with  the  letter  of  Ste.  Marie,  or  Jean  Baptiste  Racine, 
acting  commandant  of  Post  Vincennes,  to  General  Haldi- 
mand,  and  closing  with  the  letter  of  General  Haldimand 
to  General  Gage,  in  regard  to  the  matter,  show  the  proof 
of  legal  title  and  right  of  settlement  in  the  French  people 
of  Vincennes  which  was  demanded  by  the  famous  letter 
of  General  Gage  in  1773.  This  letter  will  be  found  in 
Dillon’s  History  of  Indiana  at  pages  86-88. 

I obtained  copies  of  these  various  documents  when  writ- 
ing my  “Indiana”  for  the  American  Commonwealth  series. 
The  farewell  proclamation  of  St.  Ange  was  furnished  to 
me  by  Hon.  C.  B.  Easselle,  whose  ancestors  were  among 
the  ancient  residents  of  the  Wabash  country.  The  re- 
mainder were  obtained  from  the  Canadian  archives.  I 
have  reproduced  the  originals  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
spelling  and  punctuation.  In  translating  I have  endeav- 
ored to  give  the  ideas  that  the  writers,  in  my  opinion,  en- 
deavored to  convey.  J.  P.  Dunn. 

Indianapolis , January  22,  1894.. 


(4°S) 


French  Settlements  on  the  Wabash. 


FAREWELL  PROCLAMATION  OF  LOUIS 

ST.  ANGE. 

En  vertue  de  l’ordre  Mr  de  Neyon  Major  Commandant 
au  payes  des  jllinois  de  nommer  une  personne  veller  a la 
pollisse  et  mantenir  le  bon  order  entre  les  habittans  de  ce 
poste  j ussi  que  des  vollontaire  et  lessauvage — Nous(Cap- 
itaine  reforme  etante  sur  le  point  de  partir  pour  les  jllinois 
pour  nous  randre  au  ordre  de  monsieur  de  Neyon  nous 
avont  nomme  monsieur  deroite  de  richarville,  fesint  les 
fonctions  de  Capitaine  de  millisse  conjointement  avec  le 
Sr.  le  Caindre  Soldat  des  troupe — leur  premier  soint  doit 
etre  de  maintenir  la  bonne  jntelligensse  entre  les  Sauvage 
Empechaire  le  desordre  au  terns  quil  dependera  d eux  lors 
qui  leur  sera  porte  des  plaintes  contre  quelqun  jl  le  vont 
attantion  de  faire  un  assanble  des  plus  notables  entre  les 
habittans  du  lieu  oux  la  chose  ce  dasidera  a la  pluralite 
des  suffrage. 

Messieur  de  roite  de  richarville  et  de  Caindre  ne  peuve 
trop  veller  a ce  que  les  habittans  entretienne  leur  cloutures 
etante  de  V interait  du  publique  a ce  que  les  animaux  ne 
passe  de  ter  au  grains,  jl  soposeron  autant  quil  pouvont 
au  desordre  qui  n arive  que  trops  souvant  ocasionne  par 
la  boissons,  lors  quil  viendera  quelque  nouvell  quel  soit 
jnterressante  au  bien  du  service  jl  auront  attention  de  nous 
les  faire  assavoir  En  fin  pour  tous  les  cas  que  nous  ne 
ferions  prevoire  nous  nous  enraportant  a leur  bonne  con- 
duitte  et  a leur  application  pour  le  bien  publique. 

donne  au  poste  Vincene  le  i8me  May  1764. 

St.  Ange. 


(4°7) 


408 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


(Translation.) 

By  virtue  of  the  order  of  M.  de  Neyon,  Major  Com- 
mandant of  the  Illinois  country,  to  name  a person  to  attend 
to  the  police,  and  to  maintain  good  order  among  the  citi- 
zens of  this  post,  as  also  of  the  voyageurs  and  the  Indians 
— I,  invalided  Captain,  being  about  to  depart  to  the  Illi- 
nois country  according  to  the  order  of  Monsieur  de  Neyon 
have  named  Monsieur  Deroite  de  Richardville,  perform- 
ing the  functions  of  captain  of  militia,  jointly  with  Sr.  le 
Caindre,  soldier  of  the  troops.  Their  first  care  should  be 
to  maintain  good  feeling  among  the  Indians  to  prevent 
disorder  so  long  as  they  are  in  charge.  Whenever  com- 
plaint shall  be  made  to  them  against  any  one  thev  will 
proceed  to  call  an  assembly  of  the  more  notable  of  the 
citizens  of  the  place,  where  the  matter  shall  be  decided  by 
a plurality  of  votes. 

Messieurs  Deroite  de  Richardville  and  de  Caindre  can 
not  watch  too  carefully  that  the  citizens  keep  up  their 
fences,  it  being  to  the  public  interest  that  the  cattle  should 
not  pass  from  the  commons  to  the  grain  fields.  They  will 
check  as  far  as  they  are  able  the  disorders  which  occur  too 
frequently,  occasioned  by  drinking.  Whenever  any  news 
shall  come  to  them  which  may  be  of  importance  to  the 
good  of  the  service  they  will  take  care  to  apprise  me 
of  it.  In  conclusion,  in  all  cases  which  I have  not  been 
able  to  foresee,  I depend  on  their  good  management  and 
their  devotion  to  the  public  welfare. 

Given  at  Post  Vincennes  the  18th  of  May,  1764. 

St.  Ange. 


REPORT  OF  LIEUTENANT  FRASER. 

Sir — A detail  of  the  different  occurrences  of  my  late 
journey  through  the  Indian  Nations,  cou’d  neither  be  very 
entertaining,  nor  interesting  to  any  others,  but  myself.  At 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


4°9 


your  request  Sir,  I will  endeavour  to  give  you  a discre- 
tion of  the  countries  through  which  I passed  which  is  a 
thing  however  I should  not  attempt  were  I not  confident 
that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  excuse  any  inaccuracies 
you  may  find  in  it  whither  occasion  by  hurry  or  proceed- 
ing from  my  incapacity. 

I am  very  sensible  that  my  pen  can  not  do  justice  to  the 
beauties  and  conveniences  that  nature  has  bestowed  on 
the  large  tract  of  country  lying  hitherto  uninhabited  be- 
tween Fort  Pitt  & the  Illinois  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio. 

After  traversing  ninety  miles  of  a beautiful  country 
lying  between  New  York  & Philadelphia,  and  traveling 
from  that  place  to  Fort  Pitt,  distant  320  miles  the  greatest 
part  peopled  by  very  wealthy  inhabitants  I thought  I cou’d 
see  no  other  that  cou’d  excel  it.  I was  soon  convinced 
however  of  the  contrary  on  my  proceeding  down  the 
Ohio  on  my  way  to  the  Illinois.  That  river  (very  properly 
termed  La  Belle  Riviere  by  the  French  w'hich  is  the  lit- 
teral  translation  of  the  Iroquois  name)  is  formed  by  the 
confluence  of  the  Allegeny  & Moningahila  Rivers,  at  Fort 
Pitt  where  they  lose  their  names  as  the  Ohio  does  by  fall- 
ing into  the  Missisipe  about  forty  leagues  below  Fort  Char- 
ters & almost  due  West  from  Philadelphia  after  running 
about  two  thousand  miles  in  a serpentine  course  through  a 
country  abounding  with  an  incredible  quantity  of  game  & 
constantly  presenting  different  agreeable  prospects  to  the 
Travelers  view. 

Tho’  this  River  is  considerable  at  Fort  Pitt  for  its  size 
during  the  greatest  part  of  the  year,  yet  it  is  very  much 
increas’d  both  in  Depth  and  Width  by  the  many  Rivers 
that  Discharge  themselves  into  it.  The  most  considerable 
of  these  are  the  Muskingum,  whereon  the  Delaware  live. 
The  Canaway  which  comes  from  the  back  Frontiers  of 
Virginia,  the  Scioto  on  whose  Banks  the  Shawanise  dwell, 
La  Riviere  de  Rochers,  which  begins  at  a little  distance 


410 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


from  the  Miames,  the  Ouabache  which  comes  from  near 
the  same  place  & the  Cumberland  & Cherokee  Rivers 
which  fall  into  it  considerably  lower.  These  lesser  rivers 
are  navigable  for  Batteaus  during  the  greatest  part  of  the 
year.  From  the  middle  of  October  to  June,  8 months. 

There  are  no  Indian  Nations  living  contiguous  to  the 
Banks  of  the  Ohio,  but  those  two  I have  just  mentioned 
The  Delaw  & Shaw  & the  Mingos  or  Senecas  who  live  a 
little  above  Fort  Pitt — excepting  those  of  Ouabache  on 
which  there  are  five  nations,  Ouiachtonons,  Quicapous, 
Mascoutains,  Piankishaw  & Virmillion,  settled  besides  a 
French  Village  called  St.  Vincent  in  which  there  are  about 
sixty  farmers  who  raise  a considerable  quantity  of  Wheat 
and  Tobacco,  and  have  a good  stock  of  cattle. 

Between  this  River  and  the  Illinois  are  several  very  ex- 
tensive plains  on  which  there  are  always  vast  numbers  of 
Bufialoe  & Deer  and  every  other  species  of  game  common 
in  that  country. 

The  soil  in  the  Illinois  settlements  is  not  so  good  as  at 
any  of  the  places  I have  already  named  owing  perhaps  to 
the  quantity  of  sand  mixed  with  it  by  the  Missisipe,  the 
Inhabitants,  suppose  that  the  River  overflowed  formerly, 
all  the  land  at  present  cultivated  in  that  Colony  & the  sit- 
uation with  some  other  vestiges  seem  to  give  great  proba- 
bility to  their  conjecture. 

The  land  however  is  capable  to  produce  anything  which 
one  cou’d  expect  in  so  northerly  a climate.  They  raise  a 
great  deal  of  wheat  & Indian  corn,  they  have  also  most 
kinds  of  European  fruits  and  vegetables,  tolerably  good 
considering  the  little  pains  they  give  themselves  in  culti- 
vating them.  They  have  attempted  to  rear  the  European 
vines,  which  they  say  they  cou’d  not  bring  to  any  perfec- 
tion, but  I impute  their  having  given  it  up  of  late  more  to 
the  want  of  skill  in  those  who  planted  them,  or  the  Mon- 
arch’s Injunctions  prohibiting  the  raising  any  thing  which 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


4T  1 

might  interfere  with  the  staple  commodities  of  the  North- 
ern Country.  They  make  however  a very  bad  Wine,  from 
the  natural  vine  of  the  country  which  grows  spontaneous 
in  every  part  of  that  Colony,  this  Wine  tho’  seemingly  very 
unhealthy  is  sold  at  a most  exorbitant  price,  when  they 
have  none  else  to  drink. 

The  Illinois  Indians  are  about  six  hundred  & fifty  able 
to  bear  arms.  Nothing  can  equal  their  passion  for  drunk- 
eness,  but  that  of  the  French  Inhabitants,  who  are  for  the 
greatest  part  drunk  every  day  while  they  can  get  Drink  to 
buy  in  the  Colony.  They  import  more  of  this  article  from 
New  Orleans  than  they  do  of  any  other,  and  they  never 
fail  to  meet  a speedy  & good  market  for  it.  They  have 
a good  many  Negroes,  who  are  obliged  to  labour  very  hard 
to  support  their  masters,  in  their  extravagant  Debaucheries. 
Any  one  that  has  had  any  dealings  with  them,  must  plainly 
see,  they  are  for  the  most  part  transported  convicts,  or 
people  who  have  fled  for  some  crimes.  Those  who  have 
not  done  it  themselves  are  the  offspring  of  such  as  those  I 
just  mentioned  inheriting  their  Forefathers  vices.  They 
are  cruel  and  treacherous  to  each  other  & consequently 
so  to  strangers.  They  are  dishonest  in  every  kind  of  Busi- 
ness & lay  themselves  out  to  overreach  strangers,  which 
they  often  do  by  a low  cunning  peculiar  to  themselves,  and 
their  artful  flatteries  with  extravagant  entertainments  (in 
which  they  affect  the  greatest  hospitality)  generally  favour 
their  schemes. 

There  is  a rich  Lead  Mine  in  that  Colony  from  which 
they  get  all  the  lead,  that  is  needed  in  the  country,  and  a 
River,  the  water  of  which  (tho’  fresh  to  the  taste)  they 
make  a sufficiency  of  salt  for  the  consumption  of  the  In- 
habitants. But  these  latter  conveniences  are  unluckily  on 
the  Western  or  Spanish  side  of  the  River. 

The  trade  of  this  Country  is  extremely  considerable,  till 
of  late  years  it  wras  wholy  monopolized  by  the  leading 


412 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


men  in  New  Orleans,  but  since  the  last  peace,  they  have 
allowed  any  one  that  wou’d  pay  the  fees  of  a passport  to 
go  to  our  side  of  the  River  and  amongst  our  Indians.  This 
was  a very  political  scheme  in  them,  as  every  trader  be- 
came a Partizan  for  the  French  in  the  nations  we  traded 
to,  or  in  other  words,  the  introduced  those  traders,  who 
are  in  general  most  unconciencious  Rascals  and  made  it 
their  interest  to  debauch  from  us  such  Indians  as  they 
found  well  disposed  towards  us — and  to  foment  & in- 
crease the  animosity  of  such  as  the  found  otherwise  ; to 
this  we  shou’d  alone  impute  our  late  war  with  the  Indians, 
whom  they  unwarrantably  supplied  with  ammunition  and 
every  other  thing  necessary  for  carrying  it  on.  The  N.  O. 
Company  for  the  Fur  trade  have  confined  their  commerce 
to  the  Missouris  River  since,  which  falls  in  about  five 
leagues  above  our  most  northern  settlement  in  the  Illinois, 
private  traders  are  permitted  to  go  every  where  else,  and 
many  of  them  come  to  our  side  to  trade,  particularly  into 
the  Illinois  River  from  whence  they  get  a great  share  of 
the  trade  of  that  Colony. 

I discovered  also  a few  days  before  I left  the  Illinois 
that  many  traders  who  are  permitted  by  us  to  come  up 
from  Canada  with  small  quantities  of  goods,  on  their  ar- 
rival in  the  Indian  Nations  commissions  great  quantities 
of  goods  from  the  French  Merchants  at  the  Illinois  with 
which  they  purchase  skins  in  the  neighbourhood  of  our 
Posts  & transport  them  afterwards  to  the  Illinois — but 
this  I hope  will  be  put  a stop  to  when  we  have  troops 
enough  in  that  Colony  to  establish  proper  posts  or  enable 
the  commander  to  send  Detachments  to  detect  any  we  may 
find  committing  such  Frauds. 

When  our  traders  arrive  from  the  Post  they  can  under- 
sell those  of  the  French  at  least  25  per  cent,  for  which 
reason  you  may  depend  Sir  that  they  will  use  all  their 
• endeavours  to  create  us  as  many  enemies  as  possible  as 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


4T3 


they  will  have  the  whole  trade  of  every  Nation  they  can 
engage  in  a war  against  us.  They  have  an  astonishing 
sway  over  the  Indians,  and  they  will  not  fail  to  put  it  to 
the  proof,  to  procure  themselves  Profit.  In  short  Sir  it  is 
my  humble  opinion  that  our  Countrymen  at  the  Illinois 
will  never  have  a real  peace  while  they  are  rivals  with  the 
French  in  Trade. 

The  French  Commandments  have  always  been  sharers 
in  the  Profits  of  the  New  Orleans  Company  and  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  promote  their  common  Interest. 
They  will  make  eternal  professions  of  Friendship  and 
good  Offices  with  every  Englishman  with  whom  they  have 
the  least  intercourse,  but  their  double  manner  of  acting 
shou’d  put  us  on  guard  to  trust  them  as  little  as  possible 
& to  suspect  them  of  doing  us  every  harm  possible  in  pri- 
vate. I have  the  honor  to  assure  you  of  this  Sir,  from  my 
own  experience  not  from  conjecture,  and  such  as  have  had 
any  business  with  them  regarding  his  Majesty’s  Service 
must  have  met  the  same — if  any  shou’d  pretend  to  say  the 
contrary  it  must  proceed  from  their  having  mistaken  their 
flattering  protestations  for  sincirity  so  far  as  to  overlook 
their  cunning  designs.  I have  on  many  occasions  been 
flattered  by  them  & had  compliments  paid  me  that  I 
had  no  tittle  to  a consciousness  of  the  smallness  of  my  own 
merit  convinced  me  that  they  were  covers  for  some  hidden 
designs  & the  Commander  in  Chiefs  gave  me  sufficient 
precautions  on  this  head,  to  keep  me  always  on  my  guard 
& to  supply  my  want  of  Penetration. 

You  will  think  Sir  from  my  account  of  the  French  in 
that  new  Colony  that  his  Majesty  has  not  made  very  val- 
uable acquisition  if  we  consider  only  the  number  of  new 
Subjects  he  has  got  in  that  Colony,  and  I assure  you  Sir 
that  we  would  be  as  well  quit  of  them,  if  the  Troops  in 
that  country  unfortunately  depend  on  them  in  a great 
measure  for  their  provisions — You  have  heard  Sir  how  the 


4H 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


greatest  part  of  those  who  inhabited  our  side  of  the  River 
abandon  it  on  our  getting  possession  of  the  Colony — 
Their  desertion  was  undoubtedly  occasion’d  by  the  re- 
ports spread  to  paint  the  English  government  in  as  bad  a 
light  as  invention  cou’d  frame  it,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
they  will  see  how  they  have  been  imposed  on  and  that  so 
many  will  come  back  as  will  be  able  to  supply  our  Troops 
plentifully. 

The  French  have  had  Besides  Fort  Charters  a small 
Fort  at  Cascaskias  afld  another  at  Coake,  there  was  a 
third  called  Assomption  on  the  Bank  of  the  Ohio  opposite 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Cherakee  River,  besides  two  Forts  on 
Ouabach  the  one  called  the  great  Ouiachtonon  was  de- 
pendant on  Canada  & the  other  at  little  Ouiachtonon  or 
Sfc  Vincent — dependant  on  Orleans  all  those  excepting 
fort  Charters  are  intirely  in  ruins,  some  of  them  that  you 
can  scarce  see  any  appearance  of  they  did  not  seem  to 
me  of  any  great  consequence  were  they  even  on  a better 
footing  as  they  were  situated.  The  Fort  of  the  Natchez  is 
little  better,  the  Barracks  and  everything  in  them  seem  to 
have  been  destroyed  through  wantonness.  I am  much  sur- 
prised that  we  have  not  inquired  of  the  French  their  Rea- 
sons for  abandoning  them  so  abruptly,  without  giving  us 
Regular  possession  of  them.  I took  upon  myself  to  ask 
their  reasons  for  so  doing  but  I could  never  obtain  any 
answer,  perhaps  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  giving  a proper 
one,  or  perhaps  they  did  not  look  upon  me  as  a person  of 
sufficient  consequence  to  inquire  into  those  matters. 

I forgot  to  mention  Sir  the  number  of  Inhabitants  at  the 
Illinois  and  it  is  a thing  which  is  very  difficult  to  assertain 
as  they  are  going  & coming  constantly  to  & from  the  In- 
dian Nations,  as  others  are  from  New  Orleans  to  the 
Illinois,  but  there  are  in  general  about  seven  hundred 
white  men  able  to  bear  arms. 

It  remains  only  now  to  mention  something  of  the  In- 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


4r5 

dians  in  general.  What  can  be  said  of  one,  may  be  apply’d 
to  all,  there  is  so  great  a similitude  between  them. 

The  Indians  are  cruel,  treacherous,  and  cowardly  un- 
less they  can  surprise  their  enemy  without  probability  of 
suffering  any  loss  themselves,  but  in  that  case  they  attack 
often  ten  times  their  own  number.  They  are  in  general 
great  Drunkards.  I must  except  the  Ozages  nor  are  the 
Akansa  or  Chicasas  so  passionately  fond  of  drink  as  other 
Nations  are.  These  two  are  extremely  like  each  other  and 
are  more  remarkable  for  their  attachment  to  the  white 
people  than  any  other. 

As  the  Chicasases  have  ever  been  faithful  to  us  they 
shou’d  be  distinguished  by  our  favours  to  them  before  any 
other  Nation,  and  showing  a partiality  for  them  before  other 
Indians  might  inspire  others  with  a resolution  of  imitating 
their  fidelity  Drink  is  the  occasion  of  all  our  troubles 
amongst  them  and  it  were  much  to  be  wished  that  the  as- 
semblies or  councils  of  the  neighbouring  Provinces  would 
restrict  the  sending  of  it,  as  has  been  done  to  the  North- 
ward. I am  persuaded  Sir,  when  you  well  learn  the  li- 
centious methods  of  carrying  on  the  trade  amongst  them, 
that  you  will  use  your  endeavours  to  prevent  the  fatal  con- 
sequences we  shou’d  dread  from  it.  I know  no  body  so 
proper  to  inform  you  Sir  minutely  regarding  it  as  Mr.  John 
McIntosh  commissary  of  the  Chickasaws  you  need  not  ex- 
pect to  come  at  the  truth  from  any  Trader , but  you  may 
safely  trust  to  his  information,  as  I know  him  to  be  a man 
of  such  honesty  that  nothing  could  make  him  conceal  any- 
thing which  regards  his  Majestys  Service  or  which  you 
would  be  desirous  to  know. 

I know  no  place  (as  I had  the  honour  formerly  to  tell 
you  Sir)  where  we  shou’d  establish  a Fort  at  sooner  than 
opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missouris  River  which  would 
give  us  the  command  of  that  River,  shou’d  we  find  it  here- 
after beneficial  & wou’d  also  put  a stop  to  French  trading 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


416 

up  the  River,  a Post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ouabache  wou’d 
also  be  necessary  to  command  the  navigation  of  that  river 
and  the  Ohio,  & as  a store  to  secure  provisions  or  goods 
in  coming  from  Fort  Pitt,  shou’d  it  be  thought  hereafter 
more  expedient  to  go  from  thence  by  land  to  Fort  Charters. 

I think  also  that  the  mouth  of  the  Yasou  is  a more  proper 
place  for  a Post  or  Settlement  than  any  other  place  on  the 
Missipi,  as  it  is  the  common  route  of  the  Creeks  and 
Chactaws  going  to  New  Orleans. 

I beg  leave  to  Inform  you  Sir  that  I think  if  we  could 
prevail  on  a few  Indians  to  live  at  the  Iberville  with  the 
detachment  we  get  there,  might  be  very  servicible  in  kill- 
ing game  for  the  Troops,  and  their  wives  & children  wou’d 
always  be  good  pledges  for  their  Peaceable  Behaviour. 

I have  the  honour  to  be  with  true  respect  Sir  your  most 
humble  Servant  Alr  Fraser. 

Pensacola  4th  May  1766. 

P.  S.  The  Commandants  of  the  French  Troops  in  the 
Illinois  were  always  impowered  to  prohibit  the  exportation 
of  any  provisions  from  the  Illinois  till  the  Kings  Maga- 
zines shou’d  be  first  supplyd.  This  however  the  comdt3 
often  permitted  in  consequence  of  pecuniary  considerations 
from  those  who  exported  them  I think  Sir  that  your  In- 
structions on  this  head  to  your  Commanding  officer  there 
would  be  necessary.  The  Inhabitants  might  otherwise  ex- 
port their  grain  and  sell  it  at  a lower  price  to  the  French 
that  we  might  offer  them  for  it.  I know  their  antipathy  to 
our  Nation  would  make  them  embrace  with  great  cheerful- 
ness any  sufferings  or  loss  should  they  in  any  manner  tend 
to  distress  us. 

In  consequence  of  Monsr  Auburys  intercession  I under- 
stand by  a letter  from  General  Gage  to  him,  that  there  are 
no  reprisals  to  be  made  on  the  Indian  Alibamons  who  lately, 
so  grossly  insulted  us  at  the  Iberville — as  the  Tonicaws 
have  not  been  punished  either  for  having  beat  back  the 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


417 


22cl  Regiment,  they  may  think  that  they  may  always  ex- 
pect to  commit  the  same  Hostilitie  with  impunhy.  I think 
Sir  it  would  not  be  improper  to  signify  to  them  that  must 
expect  to  be  all  cut  off  shou’d  they  for  the  future  give  rea- 
son to  suspect  their  good  intentions — nor  do  I think  it 
would  be  wrong  to  punish  them  accordingly.  The  Chica- 
saws  are  the  Proper  Instruments  for  this  duty. 

Alr  Fraser. 


THOMAS  HUTCHINS  TO  GEN.  HALDIMAND. 

Fort  Chartres  15th  Novr  1768. 

V. — 15  of  October. 

Sir — Please  to  allow  me  to  observe  that  your  Exalted 
Station  like  many  other  high  places  in  life,  is  not  I pre- 
sume free  from  some  degree  of  care  and  trouble,  at  least 
so  much  as  to  deprive  me  of  the  smallest  hopes  of  the 
•Honour  of  your  correspondence,  however  abstracted  from 
the  great  obligation  a letter  from  you  would  lay  me  under. 
I shall  beg  leave  to  intrude  so  much  upon  your  time  as 
may  be  necessary  for  the  perusal  of  the  enclosed  it  is  a 
short  description  of  the  Country  near  (and  River  of)  the 
Ohio  from  Fort  Pitt  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippe. 
You  have  it  in  the  form  of  a journal  wrote  in  haste.  I 
flatter  myself  it  may  notwithstanding  serve*  to  assist  in 
passing  a few  of  your  leisure  minutes. 

I would  trouble  you  with  the  Occurrences  of  this  place, 
but  am  apprehensive  that  a detail  of  them  would  swell  this 
letter  to  a tedious  length,  you  will  be  pleased  therefore  to 
excuse  the  liberty  I have  taken  in  referring  you  to  Mr 
Hutchinson  to  whom  I have  wrote  a particulars  of  them. 

The  Fever  and  Augue  since  our  arrival  has  raged  with 
such  uncommon  violence  as  to  put  it  out  of  our  power  to 
do  scarce  anything  more  than  to  bury  some  of  our  Officers 
and  Men  who  were  carried  off  by  those  disorders. 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


418 

We  expect  next  Spring  if  the  Health  of  the  Garrison 
permit  to  take  possession  of  Post  St  Vincent  on  the  Oua- 
bache,  if  I should  be  furnished  with  any  Occurrences  worth 
your  notice  during  my  stay  there,  I shall  do  myself  the 
pleasure  to  acquaint  you  with  them. 

Colonel  Wilkins  who  is  quite  recovered  from  his  illness 
has  desired  me  to  present  you  with  his  most  respectful 
compliments. 

It  will  always  afford  me  pleasure  to  be  favoured  with 
your  commands. 

I am  with  the  Greatest  Respect  Sir,  your  most  obedient 
Humble  Servant  Tho:  Hutchins 

N.  B.  I must  pray  you  will  not  ) 
permit  any  Person  to  take  a copy  > 
of  the  enclosed.  ; 

To  Brigadier  General  Haldimand. 


JOURNAL  FROM  FORT  PITT  TO  THE  MOUTH 

OF  THE  OHIO. 

In  the  year  1768. 

The  country  for  71  miles  below  the  Fort  to  an  Indian 
Village  situate  on  the  north  bank  is  broken  with  very  high 
ridges,  the  valleys  narrow  and  the  course  of  the  River 
plunged  from  many  high  grounds  which  compose  its  banks. 

90  miles  lower  down  is  the  Muskingum  on  the  same 
side,  in  latitude  390  19'.  The  Muskingum  is  a large  River 
250  yards  wide  at  its  confluence  with  the  Ohio,  it  is  said 
to  be  navigable  150  miles  upwards  with  Battoes,  and  runs 
through  a pleasant  country  as  that  near  its  junction  ap- 
peared to  be — on  this  River  and  its  branches  most  of  the 
Delaware  Indians  reside. 

366  miles  from  Fort  Pitt  in  Latitude  38°  22'  is  the  Sioto 
River  on  the  North  Side.  The  River  Ohio  50  miles  above 
Muskingum  to  Sioto  is  most  beautiful  a number  of  Islands 
are  to  be  seen  of  different  sizes,  but  all  covered  with  the 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


4*9 

Tallest  of  Timber.  The  long  reaches  among  which  is  one 
of  16  miles,  and  a i inclosed  with  the  finest  Trees  of  different 
kinds,  of  various  verdures  and  leaves  of  the  largest  soils, 
afford  a noble  and  enchanting  prospect.  The  stillness  of 
the  current  and  a calm  sunshine  put  a Trace  on  the  Water, 
from  which  was  reflected  the  most  beautiful  objects  of 
simple  nature,  that  I ever  beheld.  This  glorious  Vista  was 
terminated  by  two  Sugar  Loaf  Hills,  of  easy  asscent,  from 
which  can  be  discovered  all  this  magnificent  variety.  The 
Rivers  Hockhocking  & Canawha  fall  into  the  Ohio  in  this 
space,  besides  others  of  a smaller  size,  up  the  big  Can- 
awha the  Northern  Indians  penetrate  into  the  Chorakee 
Nations,  and  is  a large  fine  stream  by  report  navigable  ioo 
miles  towards  the  Southward. 

The  Country  is  everywhere  pleasant,  in  the  bends  of  the 
River  course  are  large  levell  spotts  of  the  Richest  Land, 
it  is  by  the  account  of  Traders  remarkably  Healthy. 

On  the  Sioto  the  principal  part  of  the  Shawanoe  Na- 
tion have  their  Villages  560  miles  below  Fort  Pitt,  5 
miles  south  of  the  River  is  the  Licks  in  which  Elephants 
bones  are  found,  the  principal  Lick  is  of  a circular  form, 
composed  of  a species  of  Quick  Sand  and  Black  Mud 
which  is  of  a very  Miry  Quality.  From  whence  these 
animals  came,  and  the  cause  of  their  Extinction  may  be  a 
subject  for  an  able  Penn  to  discuss.  It  however  seems 
not  improbable,  but  that  the  whole  which  were  in  this 
Country  (by  what  means  soever  they  were  brought)  kept 
constantly  in  one  Herd  and  that  arriving  at  the  Licks  in  a 
wet  season,  and  entering  to  satisfy  their  natural  thirst  for 
the  salt  water  which  arrises  from  them,  some  of  them 
might  by  their  great  weight  have  sunk  so  deep  as  not  to 
be  able  to  rise  out  & the  others  out  of  sympathy,  or  some 
other  cause,  not  being  willing  to  leave  their  companions 
in  distress,  have  shared  the  same  fate.  The  pasturage 
near  the  Licks  seems  to  be  one  of  the  finest  kind,  mixed 
with  grass  and  Herbage,  and  well  watered. 


420 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


The  Ohio  continues  to  be  narrow  the  whole  Distance 
from  Fort  Pitt  to  within  ioo  miles  of  the  Falls.  Its  breadth 
seldom  exceeds  500yards  and  is  confined  by  rising  grounds, 
which  causes  many  windings,  altho  the  reaches  are  some- 
times from  2 to  4 miles  long.  The  River  ioo  miles  above 
the  Falls  widens  to  700  yards  in  many  places,  a number  of 
Islands  appear.  The  grounds  diminish  generally  into 
Height,  and  the  country  is  not  so  much  broken — the 
height  of  the  Banks  permits  their  being  every  where  in- 
habited, nor  do  they  seem  subjected  to  crumble  much 
away.  The  Little  and  Big  Mineamies  Rivers  fall  into 
below  the  Sioto  on  the  North  side,  and  the  Licking  Creek 
and  Kentuckee  on  the  South.  There  are  many  good  En- 
campments on  the  Islands. 

The  Falls  is  682  miles  below  Fort  Pitt  in  Latitude  38 °8'. 
This  place  ought  rather  to  be  called  a Rapid,  as  the 
streams  has  no  sudden  pitch,  but  only  Runs  with  incon- 
ceivable rapidity  over  the  Ledge  of  flatt  Limestone  Rock, 
which  keeps  up  the  waters  of  the  higher  Ohio,  and  to  be 
the  cause  of  that  beautiful  stillness  of  the  Rivers  course 
above. 

317  miles  below  the  Falls  is  the  Wabash  in  Latitude  370 
41'.  From  the  Falls  to  about  half  this  distance  the  coun- 
try is  very  Hilly,  the  course  of  the  River  very  winding 
and  narrow  and  the  Hills  are  mostly  strong  and  steep. 

837  miles  below  Fort  Pitt  the  Ridgy  ground  disappears, 
the  country  grows  flat  and  the  River  whose  Bed  widens  is 
often  divided  by  Islands.  The  River  Wabash  at  its  con- 
fluence is  300  yds.  wide  and  Issues  in  with  a considerable 
quantity  of  water  of  a muddy  kind,  it  is  navigable  be- 
tween 3 & 400  miles  upwards.  Post  St  Vincent  a French 
Village  is  situate  60  leagues  up  it  and  nearly  the  same  dis- 
tance further  up  stands  the  Village  of  Ouiatanon.  The 
Following  Indian  Nations  reside  on  this  River,  Vizt.  Oui- 
atanons  Kickapoos  Pyankashaws,  and  Musquetons. 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


421 


The  country  between  the  course  of  this  River  and  that 
of  the  Mississipi  is  general  Flatt,  open  and  of  a rich 
luxurient  soil,  and  that  on  the  Banks  of  the  Ohio  is  level, 
and  in  many  places  overflowed  here  abouts. 

120  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  and  11  below 
that  of  the  Cherokee  River  is  the  remains  of  the  Fort 
Massiac,  formerly  a French  Post. 

The  country  25  miles  from  the  Wabash  begins  again  to 
be  mountainous  being  the  N.  W.  end  of  the  Apalachian 
Mountains  which  entirely  terminate  a small  distance  from 
the  River  Northernly. 

45  miles  below  Massiac  and  1164  from  Fort  Pitt  is  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio  in  Latitude  36°  43'.  The  gentle  Ohio 
is  pushed  back  by  the  impetuous  stream  of  the  Mississipi 
whose  muddy  white  water  is  to  be  seen  200  yards  up  the 
Former.  The  ground  for  some  miles  within  the  Fork  is  an 
aggregation  of  mud  and  sand  interspersed  with  marsh  and 
some  ponds  of  water,  and  is  in  high  times  of  the  Missis- 
sipi over  flowed  which  is  the  case  with  the  other  sides  of 
both  rivers.  Tho.  Hutchins. 


STE.  MARIE’S  LETTER  TO  GENERAL  HALDL 

MAND. 

Monsieur — je  suis  trop  remplie  de  respect  pour  tout  ce 
qui  porte  l’emprinte  de  l’otorite  pour  avoir  manque  a faire 
reponse  a celle  que  votre  Excelence  marque  m’avoir  ecrite 
apres  le  depart  de  Monsieur  le  general  Gage.  Voicy  la 
seulle  que  Monsr  Maisonville  m a remize  ; a laquelle  je 
repond  avec  tout  le  respect  possible. 

Pour  faire  une  plus  juste  reponse  a celle  que  Monsieur 
le  general  Gage  nous  honora  et  a la  proclamation  qu  ’il 
nous  envoya  en  date  du  8me  Avril  1773,  je  ne  pui  me  dis- 
penser de  faire  le  voyage  des  Illinois  avec  Mr.  Perthuit  qui 
fui  depute  pour  cette  affaire  parcequne  partie  des  titres  de 


422 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


cette  endroit  etoient  dans  les  archives  de  ce  poste  une 
autre  partie  emporte  par  un  M.  Clouvier  cy  deven  notaire 
et  que  la  mauvaize  conduitte  obliga  de  partir  furtivement 
d’autres  mange  des  rats  &c. 

En  fait  du  ressencement  que  vostre  Excelence  exige  de 
nous,  il  n’est  pas  surprenen  qu’il  ne  luy  fui  pas  encore 
parvenue  puis  qu’il  ne  put  estre  party  des  Illinois  qu’au 
commencement  de  Septembre.  II  a ete  fait  tel  qu’  etoit 
la  formal  que  Monsieur  le  general  Gage  nous  envoya  et 
qu’il  recommendait  suivre  exactement. 

Nous  y avons  joinn  le  certifficat  de  Mr  S*  Ange  qui  a 
longtemps  commande  en  ce  poste  au  nom  du  Roy  de 
France  legalize  par  Mr  Pierre  Nasse,  commendent  en  chef 
a Sk  Louis  et  de  Mr  le  Capitaine  Laird  qui  a bien  voulue 
se  charger  du  tout  pour  le  faire  parvenir  a Monsieur  le 
general  Gage  n’etent  pas  prevenue  que  Vostre  Excelence 
gouvernoit  en  sa  place. 

Nous  sommes  tres  persuade  que  des  affaires  ainsi  mal 
en  ordre  ne  pouroit  avoir  qu’un  tres  meauvais  succes  si 
nous  n’avions  pas  la  plus  ferme  confience  dans  les  vertues 
de  vostre  Excelence  et  sous  la  protection  de  laquelle  nous 
nous  metons ; et  comme  c’est  les  propres  des  grandes 
ames  de  s’interesser  pour  un  peuple  malheureux,  nous  la 
supplions  de  nous  estre  favorable  et  faire  chouze  digne 
d’elle  et  ne  cesserons  de  faire  des  veux  pour  sa  prosperite. 

J’ay  l’honneur  d’estre  avec  un  tres  profond  respect 

Monsieur 

Vostre  tres  humble  et  tres  obeissant  serviteur 
STE  Marie 

Au  Poste  Vincennes  le  3e  May  1774. 

(Translation.) 

Monsieur — I am  too  full  of  respect  for  all  that  bears  the 
imprint  of  authority  to  have  neglected  to  make  reply  to 
that  which  your  Excellence  informs  me  you  wrote  me  after 


ON  THE  WABASH . 


423 


the  departure  of  Monsieur  General  Gage.  This  is  the  only 
one  which  Monsieur  Maisonville  has  sent  me,  to  which  I 
reply  with  all  possible  respect. 

To  make  a more  correct  reply  to  that  with  which  Mon- 
sieur General  Gage  honored  us,  and  to  the  proclamation 
which  he  sent  us  under  date  of  April  8,  1773,  I was 
obliged  to  make  the  trip  to  the  Illinois  with  Mr.  Perthuit 
(Perthwaite?),  who  was  sent  to  attend  to  this  matter,  be- 
cause a part  of  the  title-deeds  of  this  place  were  in  the 
archives  of  that  post,  another  part  carried  away  by  a 
M.  Clouvier,  former  notary,  whose  bad  conduct  obliged 
him  to  depart  secretly,  others  were  eaten  by  rats  etc. 

In  regard  to  the  verification  (of  titles)  which  your  Ex- 
cellence requires  of  us,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  has  not 
yet  reached  you,  for  it  could  not  be  started  from  the  Illi- 
nois before  the  beginning  of  September.  It  has  been 
made  according  to  the  form  which  Monsieur  General 
Gage  sent  us,  and  which  he  recommended  us  to  follow 
exactly. 

We  have  joined  to  it  the  certificate  of  Monsieur  St. 
Ange,  who  commanded  at  this  post  for  a long  time  in  the 
name  of  the  King  of  France,  authenticated  by  Monsieur 
Piernas,  commandant  in  chief  at  St.  Louis,  and  of  Monsieur 
Captain  Lord,  who  indeed  offered  to  see  that  it  reached 
Monsieur  General  Gage,  not  being  aware  that  your  Ex- 
cellence governed  in  his  place. 

We  are  indeed  convinced  that  affairs  in  such  bad  order 
could  not  have  other  than  very  poor  success,  if  we  did  not 
have  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  virtues  of  your  Excel- 
lence, and  under  the  protection  of  whom  we  put  ourselves  ; 
and  as  it  is  the  characteristic  of  great  souls  to  interest 
themselves  for  an  unfortunate  people,  we  supplicate  you  to 
be  favorable  to  us,  and  to  do  as  is  worthy  of  you,  and  we 
will  never  cease  to  offer  prayers  for  your  prosperity. 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


424 

I have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  profound  respect, 
Monsieur, 

Your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant 

Ste.  Marie. 


Post  Vincennes,  May  3,  1774. 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


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428  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 

CERTIFICATE  OF  THE  NOTARY  PHILLIBERT. 

Je,  Etienne  Phillibert,  sous  mon  propre  serment  sur  les 
Ste8  Evangiles  Certifie  a tous  qu’il  appartiendra,  que  plus- 
ieurs  habitants  du  poste  Vincenne,  Lorsque  je  faisois  la 
fonction  de  Notaire  au  dit  Poste,  avant  1’  evasion  de  feu 
Baumer  notaire  apres  moi,  lui  avoir  remis  plusieurs  con- 
tracts de  concession  appertenans  aux  habitants,  et  que 
T evasion  du  dit  Sr  Baumer,  ainsi  que  le  Transport  du 
Greffe  de  ce  poste  en  celui  des  Illinois,  ont  fait  perdre 
quantite  de  papiers  de  Concessions,  ainsi  que  des  Contracts 
de  Vente,  en  V annee  mil  sept  cent  soizante  et  un,  qui  fut 
ce  transport  de  dits  papiers  ainsi  que  1’  evasion  du  dit 
Notaire.  En  foy  de  quoi  j’ai  signe  le  present  au  dit  poste 
Vincesne  Le  I2ie  Aout‘1773. 

Signe  a L’original, 

J.  E.  Phillibert, 

Notaire  Royale. 

(Translation.) 

I,  Etienne  Phillibert,  under  my  solemn  oath  on  the  Holy 
Gospels,  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that  many 
citizens  of  Post  Vincennes,  when  I was  performing  the 
function  of  Notary  at  the  said  Post,  before  the  flight  of  the 
late  Baumer  notary  after  me,  delivered  to  him  many  con- 
tracts of  concession  belonging  to  the  citizens,  and  that  the 
flight  of  said  Mr.  Baumer,  and  also  the  removal  of  the 
record  office  of  this  Post  to  that  of  the  Illinois,  have  caused 
to  be  lost  a number  of  papers  of  concession,  as  well  as  con- 
tracts of  sale,  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-one, 
when  this  removal  of  said  papers  as  also  the  flight  of  said 
notary  occurred.  In  testimony  of  which  I have  signed 
these  presents  at  the  said  Post  Vincennes,  the  12th  of 
August,  1773.  Signed  in  original, 

J.  E.  Phillibert, 

Royal  Notary. 


ON  THE  WABASH 


429 


CERTIFICATE  OF  LOUIS  ST.  ANGE. 

Nous  Louis  St.  Ange  de  Bellerive  ci  devant  Capitaine 
d’  Infanterie,  employe  du  service  de  Sa  Majestee  Tres 
Chretienne,  actuellement  Capitaine  reforme  au  service  de 
Sa  Majeste  Catholique  : Certifions  a tous  ce  qu’il  appar- 
tiendra  a avoir  commande  le  Poste  Vincesnes  au  nom  de 
sa  dite  Majeste  Tres  Chretiennd,  avec  une  Garrison  de 
Troupe  Reglies,  depuis  l’annee  mil  sept  cent  trente  six 
jusqu’en  l’annee  mil  sept  cent  soizante  quatre  et  que  ma 
premiere  commission  pour  commander  dans  le  dit  poste  a 
ete  de  sa  Majeste  Tres  Chretienne,  sous  le  gouvernement 
de  M.  de  Bienville,  Gouverneur  General  de  la  Louisiane 
en  la  dite  annee  mil  sept  cent  trente  six,  qu’ensuite  j’ai  ete 
continue  sous  les  gouvernements  de  Mess13  de  Vaudreuille 
et  de  Kerlerec  et  Dabadie  successeurs  les  uns  des  autres 
au  dit  gouvernement ; jusqu’en  la  dite  annee  mil  sept  cent 
soizante  quatre  ; que  pendant  le  dit  Temps  j’ai  concede  a 
plusieurs  habitants  diverses  Terres  et  Terrains  par  ordre 
de  mes  dits  Srs  les  Gouverneurs,  au  nom  de  sa  Majeste 
Tres  Chretienne  ; que  de  plus  le  dit  Poste  etoit  etabli 
nombre  d’annees  auparavant  mon  commandment,  sous 
celui  de  M.  de  Vincesne  Officier  des  Troupes,  lequel  j’ai 
releve  par  ordre  du  roi ; que  l’on  doit  ajouter  foi  aux  con- 
cessions que  j’ai  delivrees  et  signees  aux  dits  habitants, 
qu’en  outre  j’ai  permis  verballement  a nombre  de  particu- 
lars, de  s’etablir  et  d’y  cujtiver  des  Terres  dont  ils  sont  en 
possession  depuis  plusieurs  annees.  En  foi  de  quoi  avons 
signe  ces  presents  pour  servir  et  valoir  aux  habitants  du 
Poste  Vincesnes  a que  de  raison.  Et  a quelles  fait  apposer 
le  cachet  de  nos  armes  aux  Illinois  sur  la  partie  de  Sa  Ma- 
jeste Catholique  le  Trente  Aout  mil  sept  cent  soizante  et 
treize.  Signe  a I’original, 

ST  Ange 


430 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


(Translation.) 

I,  Louis  St.  Ange  de  Bellerive  former  captain  of  in- 
fantry employed  in  the  service  of  His  Most  Christian  Ma- 
jesty, at  present  invalided  captain  of  the  service  of  His 
Catholic  Majesty,  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  that 
I commanded  at  Post  Vincennes  in  the  name  of  His  Most 
Christian  Majesty,  with  a garrison  of  regular  troops,  from 
the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-six  until 
in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty  four, 
and  that  my  first  commission  as  commandant  of  the  said 
post  was  from  His  Most  Christian  Majesty  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  M.  de  Bienville,  Governor  General  of  Louisi- 
ana in  the  said  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
thirty  six  ; that  thereafter  I was  continued  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  Messieurs  de  Vaudreville,  de  Kerlerec,  and 
D’Abadie,  successors  one  to  another  in  the  said  govern- 
ment until  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-four ; that  during  the  said  time  I have  conceded  to 
many  inhabitants  divers  lands  and  pieces  of  ground  by  or- 
der of  my  said  Srs.  the  Governors,  in  the  name  of  His 
Most  Christian  Majesty  ; that  further,  the  said  post  was 
established  a number  of  years  before  my  command  under 
that  of  M.  de  Vincennes,  officer  of  the  troops,  whom  I 
succeeded  by  order  of  the  king  ; that  faith  should  be  given 
to  the  concessions  which  I have  signed  and  delivered  to 
the  said  inhabitants  ; that  in  addition  to  this  I have  ver- 
bally permitted  a number  of  individuals  to  establish  them- 
selves and  cultivate  the  lands  of  which  they  have  been  in 
possession  for  many  years.  In  testimony  of  which  I have 
signed  these  presents  to  secure  and  establish  the  rights  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes,  and  to  which  I have 
caused  to  be  attached  the  seal  of  our  arms  at  the  Illinois 
on  the  part  of  His  Catholic  Majesty,  the  thirtieth  of 
August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy  three. 

Signed  in  original, 

St.  Ange. 


ON  THE  WABASH.  43 1 

AUTHENTICATION  OF  DON  PEDRO  PIERNAS. 


L.  O.  S. 

Nous  Don  Pedro  Piernas  Capitaine  d’  Infanterie  Lieu- 
tenant Gouverneur  des  Etablissements  des  Illinois  et  leur 
dependances  appartenans  a Sa  Majeste  Catholique,  cer- 
tifions  a tous  qu’il  appartiendra  que  Mons.  De  St  Ange  est 
Capitaine  reforme  et  employe  au  service  de  Sa  Majeste 
Catholique,  que  c’est  sa  veritable  signature,  qu’il  aposee 
devant  nous  au  bas  du  certificat  ci-dessus  et  que  foi  doit  y 
etre  ajoutee.  En  consequence  avons  signe  le  present,  et 
apose  le  sceau  de  nos  armes  a St  Louis  aux  Illinois,  le 
trente  Aout  mil  sept  cent  soizante  et  treize. 

Signe  a 1’  original, 

L.  O.  S.  Pedro  Piernas. 

[seal.]  (Translation.) 

I,  Don  Pedro  Piernas,  Captain  of  Infantry,  Lieutenant 
Governor  of  the  settlements  of  the  Illinois  and  their  de- 
pendencies, belonging  to  Plis  Catholic  Majesty,  certify  to 
all  whom  it  may  concern  that  Monsieur  de  St.  Ange  is  an 
invalided  captain  and  employed  in  the  service  of  His  Cath- 
olic Majesty  ; that  this  is  his  genuine  signature  which  he 
affixed  before  me  at  the  bottom  of  the  above  certificate  ; 
and  that  credit  should  be  given  to  it.  In  testimony  of 
which  I have  signed  these  presents,  and  attached  the  seal 
of  my  arms  at  St.  Louis  in  the  Illinois  country,  the  thirtieth 
of  August,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy  three. 

Signed  in  original, 

[seal.]  Pedro  Piernas. 


GENERAL  HALDIMAND  TO  GENERAL  GAGE. 

N.  York,  le  5 Jan.  1774. 

Mon. — Je  viens  enfin  de  recevoir  une  lettre  de  Cap® 
Lord  des  Illinois  date  du  3e  Sepre  m’envoyer  le  recense- 


432 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


ment  (ou  plutot  les  noms)  de  88  habitans  qui  sont  etabli  au 
Post  Vincene.  Cette  piece  est  accompagne  d’un  certificat 
de  M.  St  Ange  qui  y a commande  pendant  plusieurs 
annees,  et  qui  dit  avoir  ete  authorisee  par  les  differents 
Gouv3  de  la  Louisianne,  de  conceder  des  Terrains  dans 
les  endroits  la.  Mais  la  plupart  de  ces  titres  sont  perdu, 
soit  par  accident  ou  par  la  mauvaise  conduite  d’un  notaire 
de  1’endroit,  de  sorte  qu’il  y a plusieurs  de  ces  habitans  qui 
n’ont  d’autre  titres que  celui  de  possession,  etcomme  il  serait 
tres  difficile  de  leur  disputer,  le  meilleur  serait  peutetre  de 
les  laisser  tranquille,  mais  de  leur  donner  quelqu’un  pour  les 
conduire.  Qiioique  la  malle  doit  se  fermer  ce  soir  je  tacherai 
d’  envoyer  les  pieces  au  compte  de  Dartmouth,  me  persua- 
dant  que  vous  vous  prenderez  quelqu’  arrangement  pour 
les  Illinois  pendant  cet  hiver.  Le  Capne  Lord  me  manque 
que  deux  habitans  Francais  ont  (a  l’example  de  Mons.  Mur- 
ray) achete  toute  le  terrain  appartenant  a une  des  tribus  des 
Illinois,  qui  etait  autrefois  tres  nombreuses  et  qui  se  trouve 
reduite  aujourd’hui  a douze  Guerriers.  J’ai  toute  lieu  de 
crois  que  les  deux  Francais  ne  sont  que  les  Agents  de  la 
meme  compagnie  qui  achete  la  premier  terrain,  et  il  est 
facile  de  prevoir  qu’il  y aura  dans  peu  beaucoup  de  desordre 
dans  ces  cotes  la,  si  on  n’y  porte  une  prompte  remede, 
habitans  s’etabli  augmente  et  a que  jours  la  fureur. 

Je  profitais  de  1’occasion  du  L*  Ellis  qui  partit  Dimanche 
dernier  pour  vous  savoir  la  mort  de  Commissaire  Lake, 
enfin  que  si  vous  avez  dessein  de  servir  quelques  une  de 
vos  amis  vous  puissiez  le  faire.  J’annonce  cet  vacance  au 
Secretaire  de  la  Guerre  par  ce  ‘pacquet  et  en  attendant 
que  la  volonte  du  Roi  soit  connu  j’ai  nomme  le  Cap® 
Hutchinson  pour  faire  la  fonction  de  Mons.  Lake  avec 
ordre  de  continuer  tout  les  personnes  employe  dans  cette 
affaire,  afin  que  les  choses  continent  dans  l’ordre  ou  elles 
ont  ete  j’usqua  present. 

Dans  le  retour  de  l’etat  Maj.  outre  mon  Aide  de  Camp, 


ON  THE  WABASH.  433 

j’en  ai  nomme  un  autre  faisant  fonction  en  Amerique  et 
que  je  payerai  par  un  warrant. 

Depuis  les  nouvelles  que  vous  aurez  recues  par  le  Cape 
Cowper  il  ne  s’est  rien  passe  d’extraordinaire  et  je  compte 
que  le  vaisseau  qui  apporte  le  The  n’  occasionera  pas  des 
desordre,  on  parait  bien  determiner  a le  faire  reporter  sans 
bruit. 

Lady  Dunmore  arriva  hier  avec  une  legion  d’  enfants. 
Elle  aura  de  la  peine  a continuer  son  voyage  le  temps 
etant  trev  mauvais.  Mes  compliments  a Madame  &c. 

J’ai  I*  h. 

Je  vous  prie  Mon.  d’  assurer  My  Lord  Gage  de  mes  re- 
spects, et  de  lui  dire  que  j’ai  fait  parvenu  dans  son  temps 
les  lettres  pour  Mons.  Campbell  qui  avait  mis  sous  mon 
couvert.  Je  vous  felicite  d’  avoir  pu  servirMons.  Kemble. 
On  me  dit  que  sa  commission  de  “ naval  officer”  est  ar- 
rivee. 

(Translation.) 

New  York,  Jan.  5,  1774. 

Monsieur — I have  at  length  received  a letter  from 
Captain  Lord,  of  the  Illinois,  dated  September  3d,  trans- 
mitting to  me  the  verification  (or  rather  the  names)  of  88 
citizens  who  are  established  at  Post  Vincennes.  This 
document  is  accompanied  by  a certificate  of  M.  St.  Ange, 
who  commanded  there  for  many  years,  and  who  says  he 
had  been  authorized  by  the  different  governors  of  Louisi- 
ana to  concede  lands  in  that  locality.  But  the  most  of 
these  title-deeds  are  lost,  either  by  accident  or  by  the  bad 
conduct  of  a notary  of  the  place,  so  that  there  are  many 
of  these  citizens  who  have  no  other  title  than  that  of  pos- 
session, and  as  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  controvert  them, 
it  will  probably  be  better  to  let  them  remain,  but  to  send 
some  one  to  govern  them.  Although  the  mail  ought  to 
close  this  evening,  I will  endeavor  to  forward  the  docu- 
ments to  Lord  Dartmouth,  believing  that  you  will  adopt 
some  arrangement  for  the  Illinois  during  this  winter.  Cap- 


434 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


tain  Lord  informs  me  that  two  French  citizens  have  (after 
the  manner  of  Mr.  Murray)  bought  all  the  land  belonging 
to  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  Illinois,  who  were  formerly  very 
numerous  and  who  are  now  reduced  to  a dozen  warriors. 
I have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  two  Frenchmen  are 
nothing  but  agents  of  the  same  company  which  bought  the 
first  land,  and  it  is  easy  to  foresee  that  there  will  be  in  a 
little  while  much  disorder  in  those  parts  if  a remedy  is  not 
promptly  provided  ; the  settlers  will  establish  themselves, 
increase,  and  some  day  there  will  be  trouble. 

I availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  write  you  by  Lt. 
Ellis,  who  left  last  Sunday,  to  let  you  know  of  the  death 
of  Commissary  Lake,  in  order  that  if  you  desired  to  serve 
some  of  your  friends  you  might  be  able  to  do  so.  I an- 
nounce this  vacancy  to  the  Secretary  of  War  by  this  mail, 
and  until  the  pleasure  of  the  King  shall  be  known  I have 
appointed  Captain  Hutchinson  to  perform  the  duties  of  Mr. 
Lake,  with  orders  to  continue  all  the  persons  employed  in 
this  business,  in  order  that  affairs  may  keep  in  the  same 
situation  that  they  have  been  to  the  present. 

In  the  return  of  the  staff  in  addition  to  my  aide-de-camp, 
I have  appointed  another  for  duty  in  America,  and  whom 
I will  pay  by  a warrant. 

Since  the  news  that  you  received  by  Captain  Cowper 
nothing  extraordinary  has  occurred,  and  I think  that  the 
vessel  which  brings  the  tea  will  not  occasion  disorder,  in- 
deed they  appear  to  have  decided  to  take  it  back  quietly. 

Lady  Dunmore  arrived  yesterday  with  a legion  of  chil- 
dren. She  will  have  trouble  in  continuing  her  journey, 
the  weather  being  very  bad.  My  compliments  to  Madame, 
etc. 

I have  the  honor — 

I beg  you  to  present  My  Lord  Gage  my  respects  and  to 
say  to  him  that  I have  ^delivered  in  good  time  the  letters 
to  Mr.  Campbell  which  he  sent  in  my  care.  I congratulate 
you  on  having  been  able  to  serve  Mr.  Kemble.  I hear 
that  his  commission  as  “naval  officer”  has  arrived. 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


435 


B 27,  p.  295. 

THE  ROAD  FROM  DETROIT  TO  THE  ILLINOIS 


By  way  of  the  Forts  Miamie , Ouiattanon  and 
St.  Vincent  with  some  remarks } 


From  Detroit  to  Lake  Erie 

To  the  River  Miamie2 

To  the  Foot  of  the  Rapids 

To  the  Top  of  the  Rapids 

N.  B.  Part  of  the  Ottawa  & a few  of  the  Hurons  inhabit 
this  part  of  the  River.  In  the  former  when  the  water 
is  low,  Canoes  cannot  pass  the  Rapids,  otherwise  than 
by  being  dragged  over  the  stones  & frequently  the  Tra- 
ders are  obliged  to  carry  their  goods  the  whole  eighteen 
miles. 

To  the  end  of  the  still  water 

To  the  Top  of  the  next  Rapids 

To  the  Grand  Glaze,3  a river  so  called  on  the  left  going  up. 
N.  B.  A few  Ottawas  live  here. 

To  the  little  Glaze  on  the  right 

To  the  Kings  Glaze  on  the  right  (a  few  Ottawas  live  here).  . 

To  the  Elm  Meadow 

To  Sledge  Id  (so  called  from  a large  stone  resembling  a 

sledge) 

To  the  Split  rock 

To  the  Wolf  Rapid 

To  the  great  Bend.4 

To  Fort  Miamie.5 


MILES 


MILES 


18 

36 

18 

18 


24 

9 

6 

3 

12 

1S 

12 

6 

12 

12 

l5 


N.  B.  The  Miami  Nation  live  opposite  the  Fort  and  consist  of  about 
50  Men  able  to  bear  arms — The  Fort  is  inhabited  by  Eight  or  Ten 
French  Families. 


iThis  itinerary  is  not  dated,  but  is  deposited  with  papers  of  the  year  1774, 
and  was  probably  prepared  in  that  year. 

2 River  Miamie— the  Maumee. 

s Grand  Glaze— the  Auglaize  river;  site  of  Defiance,  Ohio. 

4The  Great  Bend— in  Maumee  township,  Allen  county,  Ind.  The  river  is 
very  winding  for  a number  of  miles  east  of  this  place,  so  that  the  distances 
given  appear  large  when  compared  with  a direct  line. 
sFort  Miamie— The  British  establishment. 


436 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


MILES 


Brought  over 

From  Fort  Miamieto  Cold  Feet1  where  the  old  French  Fort 

was 

The  carrying  place  to  the  little  River 

To  the  River  k Boite 

To  the  Flats 

To  the  little  Rock2 

To  the  Ouabache3 

N.  B.  Between  the  Miamie  & the  Ouabache  there  are 
Beaver  Dams  which  when  water  is  low  Passengers 
break  down  to  raise  it,  & by  that  means  pass  easier  than 
they  otherwise  would,  when  they  are  gone  the  Reaver 
come  and  mend  the  Breach,  for  this  reason  they  have 
been  hitherto  sacred  as  neither  Indians  or  White  people 
hunt  them. 

To  the  River  Sallaminee4  on  left  going  down 

N.  B.  This  River  is  navigable  for  canoes  150  miles. 

To  the  Pipe  River  on  the  left 

To  the  Great  Rapid 

To  the  Eel  River  on  the  right5 

To  the  Little  Rock6 

To  the  Island  of  Garlic7 

To  Richards  Coal  Mine8  on  the  right  close  to  the  river.  . . . 

To  the  River  Tripeccans9  on  the  right 

To  Ouiattanon  Fort10 

This  Fort  is  on  the  right  about  70  yards  from  the  River, 
the  Ouattanon  Nation  of  Indians  is  on  the  opposite 
side,  & the  Kiccaposses  are  round  the  Fort,  in  both  vil- 
lages about  1000  men  able  to  bear  arms. 


3 

9 

6 

21 

3 

6 


*5 


18 

3 

3 

9 

15 

9 


MILES 


2l6 


399 


iCold  Feet— i.  e.,the  Indian  village  of  Coldfoot’s  band.  Coldfoot  (Pied 
Frold)  was  a prominent  Miami  chief  of  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Vide 
Dunn’s  Indiana,  pp.  65,  66. 

2 Little  Rock  river— now  known  ps  Bull  creek. 

8 The  Wabash— mouth  of  Little  River,  site  of  Huntington,  Ind. 

4 The  Salominee— site  of  La  Gro. 

8 Eel  river— site  of  Logansport. 

« Little  Rock  river— So  marked  on  ancient  maps.  Probably  Crooked  Creek, 
Cass  county. 

7 1sland  of  Garlic— Probably  an  island  near  Lockport.  The  distances  from 
Eel  river  to  the  Tippecanoe  are  too  great  for  accurate  decision. 

8 At  Richards  river,  on  old  maps— Probably  a small  stream  that  empties 
opposite  Delphi,  or  one  two  miles  above. 

9 The  Tippecanoe. 

10  Post  Ouiatanon— After  careful  study  of  authorities  and  maps  I located 
this  fort  “ on  the  north  bank  of  the  Wabash,”  “a  short  distance  above  In- 
dian creek,  which  the  French  called  Riviere  de  Boisrouge.”  About  five 
months  after  my  “Indiana”  was  published,  in  February  1889,  some  workmen 
who  were  taking  gravel  from  a bank  near  the  river,  about  four  miles  above 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


437 


Brought  over 

From  Fort  Ouiattanon  Down  the  Ouabache  to  the  river 

Vermillion 

N.  B.  This  River  is  on  the  right  & at  some  seasons  is 
navigable  for  boats  about  120  miles.  A mile  up  it  is  a 

Village  of  Piankshaws  of  upwards  of  150  Men 

To  the  Highlands1  or  old  Boundary  between  Canada  and 

Louisiana 

‘To  Fort  St.  Vincent 

To  the  Illinois  by  Land,  the  road  is  chiefly  through 
Plains  and  Extensive  Meadows 


MILES 


60 


3 

57 

120 


MILES 


399 


240 

240 


From  Detroit  to  the  Illinois 

N.  B.  The  above  distances  are  all  computed. 

The  Road  from  Detroit  to  Fort  St.  Josephs  by  land  & from 
thence  to  the  junction  of  the  Illinois  River  with  the  Mis- 
sissippi by  water. 

From  Detroit  to  the  River2  Huron  or  Haudewine  Sippy . . . 
N.  B.  There  is  a Village  of  Puttawattamees  of  six  large 
Cabans — The  River  at  this  place  is  about  Fifty  feet  wide 
& the  water  is  generally  from  one  and  a half  to  two  feet 
deep,  when  there  are  Floods  Travellers  are  obliged  to 
make  rafts  to  cross  it — The  road  to  this  place  bad. 

To  the  Salt  River3  or  Wandayon  Sippi 

N.  B.  There  is  another  Village  of  Pittawattamees  of  five 
Cabans — This  river  is  never  so  high  as  to  prevent  peo- 
ple passing  it. 

To  one  of  the  Branches  of  Grand  River4  or  Washtanon  that 

falls  into  Lake  Michigan 

There  is  another  Village  of  Pittawattamees  of  eight  large 
Cabans. 


40 


12 


60 


879 


112 


Indian  creek,  found  the  remains  of  a French  officer,  as  appeared  from  parts 
of  the  uniform  still  existing.  From  this  and  other  remains,  silver  crucifixes, 
utensils  of  various  kinds,  etc.,  many  of  which  are  now  preserved  at  Purdue 
University,  the  site  of  the  fort  was  identified.  (Lafayette  Call,  Feb.  12  and 
Feb.  19,  1889.)  The  location  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  Mrs.  Berilla  Smith, 
an  aged  lady,  who  came  to  that  region  in  1831,  and  had  the  site  of  the  old  fort 
pointed  out  to  her  by  earlier  settlers.  (Lafayette  Call,  March  11,  1892.)  It  is 
nearly  opposite— slightly  below— the  mouth  of  Wea  creek,  near  Sand  Ridge 
church. 

iThe  Highlands— a translation  of  the  French  name  terre  haute,  which  at- 
tached to  the  locality  long  before  the  city  of  Terre  Haute  was  thought  of. 

2Near  the  site  of  Ann  Arbor. 

3 Saline  creek— the  trail  bore  to  the  North  from  this  point,  either  to  avoid 
the  tamarack  swamps  of  Southern  Michigan,  or  to  reach  the  other  Pottawatta- 
mie villages. 

4 At  Eaton  Rapids— from  this  point  the  road  was  in  a very  direct  line  to 
Fort  St.  Joseph.  (Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  3,  p.  380.) 


43» 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


MILES  MILES 


Brought  over 

To  Reccanaraazo  River,  or  Pusawpaw  Sippy  otherwise  the 

Iron  Mine  river1 

N.  B.  There  is  another  village  of  Pittawatamees  of  eight 
large  Cabans,  this  river  cannot  be  passed  in  Freshes  on 
Rafts,  at  other  time  i or  2 feet  deep 

To  the  Prarie  ronde2 

N.  B.  There  is  a small  Lake  of  about  % mile  wide  and 
11  miles  long,  abounding  with  several  sorts  of  Fish,  such 
as  Maskenongi,  White  Fish  &c 

To  Fort  St  Josephs3 

N.  B.  There  is  a few  Pittawattamees  near  the  Fort  the 
road  after  you  pass  the  River  Huron  is  very  good  being 
mostljr  on  a small  height  of  land  & little  wood  till  you 
come  to  St  Joseph’s  where  you  pass  thro’  about  a mile 
long  and  another  about  six  miles  long. 

From  Fort  St  Josephe’s  you  ascend  that  River  to  a carrying 

place4  

From  carrying  place  to  Recankeekee  river 

To  the  junction  of  this  River  with  the  Iroquois  River 

N.  B.  In  this  Fort  is  a village  of  14  large  Cabans  of  Mas- 
coutains. 

To  the  junction  of  this  river  with  the  Chicaugou5  river 

which  forms  the  Illinois  river 

N.  B.  At  the  Fort  there  is  a Village  of  Puttawattamees 
of  12  large  Cabans 

To  the  Rocks  or  old  French  Fort  called  Pumetewes6 

To  the  Mississippi 


From  Detroit  to  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River. 


1 12 

75 

30 

75 

292 

12 

4 

15° 

/ 

45 

90 

240 

54i 

833 

iThe  Kalamazoo— near  Battle  Creek. 

2Prairie  Ronde— in  the  southwest  corner  of  Kalamazoo  county,  Michigan. 
The  township  still  hears  the  name. 

3Near  Niles,  Michigan. 

4Site  of  South  Bend,  Indiana. 

5 The  Des  Plaines. 

6Pimetoui. 


ON  THE  WABASH.  439 

THE  FIRST  CENSUS  OF  INDIANA.* 

List  of  the  Inhabitants  at  Fort  St.  Vincents  on  the  Oua- 
bache  as  they  were  in  1769,  since  which  they  have  in- 
creased rather  than  diminished. 


Mr.  Nicholas 

Bourcier 

De  Lorier 

Jean  Millhomme 

Mrs.  Malle 

Michelle  Depe 

Antoine  Marci 

Legar 

Dubois 

Dutremble 

Nouveau 

Millet  Cardinal 

St.  Aubin 

Cardinal 

Mrs  Richarville 

Joseph  Deroin 

Antoine  La  Framboise 

Pierre  Miret 

Jaque  Suinaitte 

Duchesne 

Pierre  Lefevre 

Bailoup 

Charle  Harbonnaux 

Languedoc 

Pierre  Cornville 

Chapeaux 

Frangois  Godere 

V audrille 

Frangois  Barois 

Pierre  Peron 

Jean  Jazon 

Lagarouche  Godere 

Bordelot 

Mallet 

Peleteree 

Josephe  Chapot 

Provencalle 

Josephe  Metaige 

Joseph  Sabotte 

Sanschagrin 

Langlois 

St.  Louis  dit-pluechon 

De  Comte 

La  fulliade 

V alcour 

Clairman 

Denoiyon 

De  Ligne 

Malle  fils 

Grimar 

Antoine  Peradort 

Alexis  Delaronte 

Orlans 

Magnifique  Desne. 

St.  Marie 

Jean  Lagarde 

Lagaissie 

Sanspeur 

Brunett 

Baullon 

Desnott  • * 

Charle  Sachisne 

Panat 

St.  Martin 

Arpain 

Rapicaut 

N.  B.  Nicholas  is  the  most  substantial  Inhabitant  and 
has  been  employed  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  there,  by  some 
authority  from  the  commanding  officer  at  the  Illinois. 

When  this  list  was  taken  there  were  fifty  women  and 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty  Children  belonging  to  the  Inhab- 
itants, and  Fifty  Men  able  to  bear  arms  including  Servants 


*Filed  with  the  papers  of  1774  and  probably  of  that  date. 


44° 


FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS 


Names  of  Inhabitants  at  Fort 
Ouiattanon. 


Names  of  the  Inhabitants  at  Fort 
Miamie. 


Maisonville 

Maignian 


Capuchin 
Baptiste  Campau 
Nicholas  Perot 
Pierre  Barthe 


Paille 

Lamorceau 


J.  Cardinal 


Bergerson 

Berthelemy 

Dorien 


Lefevre 
Vernette 
La  Riviere 
Clement 


Francois  Maisonville 
Laurain 


Pierre  Bertin 


Crepo 

Aijot 


LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR  ABBOTT,  SUPERIN- 
TENDENT, TO  SIR  GUY  CARLETON. 


Sir — I have  the  honor  of  acquainting  your  Excellency 
of  my  arrival  the  19th  inst ; the  short  time  and  trouble  with 
the  Indians  &c  has  not  permitted  my  taking  a general 
Review  of  the  affairs  of  this  district ; since  the  conquest  of 
Canada,  no  person  bearing  His  Majesty’s  Commission  has 
been  to  take  possession  ; from  this  your  Excellency  may 
easily  imagine  what  anarchy  reigns. 

I must  do  the  inhabitants  justice  for  the  respectfull  re- 
ception I met  with,  and  for  their  readiness  in  obeying  the 
orders  I thought  necessary  to  issue. 

The  Wabache  is  perhaps  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the 
world,  on  its  banks  are  several  Indian  Towns,  the  most 
considerable  is  the  Ouija,  where  it  is  said  there  are  1000 
men  capable  to  bear  arms,  I found  them  so  numerous,  and 
needy,  I could  not  pass  without  great  expense  ; The  pres- 
ents though  very  large,  were  in  a manner  despised,  saying 
their  antient  Father  (the  french)  never  spoke  to  them  with- 
out a barnfull  of  goods  ; having  no  Troops  and  only  a 
handfull  of  french  obliged  me  to  esquiese  in  part  of  their 
exorbitand  demands,  which  has  occationed  a much  greater 
expense  than  I could  have  imagined,  but  I believe  it  not 


ON  THE  WABASH. 


44 1 

thrown  away,  as  I left  them  seemingly  well  disposed  for 
His  Majesty’s  service. 

I have  drawn  on  Mr  Dunn  for  seven  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty  two  Pounds  six  shillings  and  tenpence 
halfpenny  New  York  currency  and  request  your  Excel- 
lency will  order  payment,  I have  likewise  took  the  Liberty 
of  drawing  on  Mr  Dunn  for  6428  Livres  in  favour  of  Jean 
Baptiste  Racine  dit  Sc  Marie,  who  has  acted  as  command- 
ant of  this  place  since  it  was  conceded  to  His  Majesty. 
The  fair  character  he  bears  with  the  certificate  annexed 
to  his  account  makes  me  think  it  just ; I hope  your  Excel- 
lency will  excuse  the  incorrectness  of  this  as  I am  every 
minute  call’d  away  and  have  not  a moment  to  myself;  I 
beg  leave  to  mention  Mr  Edgar  the  bearer  of  this  who  has 
had  a great  deal  of  trouble,  paid  all  the  expences  of  Govern- 
ment without  the  least  gratification  and  without  whom  I 
could  not  have  kept  the  accounts  in  any  order  from  the 
multiplicity  of  affairs,  I offered  him  payment  which  he  re- 
fused, he  came  with  me  to  see  the  country  and  can  much 
better  inform  you  of  it  than  I can  who  was  continually  em- 
ployed— I shall  send  off  in  a few  days  towards  Fort  Pitt  to 
see  what  is  doing  there  ; I enclose  a note  sent  me  from 
Monsr  Rocheblave  which  shews  the  Spaniards  intention 
toward  us  and  which  corresponds  with  other  intelligence  I 
have  had.  By  the  nex  opportunity  I hope  to  have  it  in 
my  power  to  send  a circumstantial  account  of  this  place,  I 
must  not  neglect  mentioning  a Mr  Ramsey  who  has  been 
here  about  nine  years  ago  from  the  Illinois.  I would  beg 
your  Excellency  would  give  me  orders  concerning  the  land 
at  this  place  for  few  of  them  have  any  proper  grants  though 
possessed  near  thirty  years. 

I have  the  honor  to  be  with  respect 
your  Excellency’s  most  obedient  Hum1  Serv1 
(Signed)  Edward  Abbott 
Lieu*  Governor  & Superintendant  of  S1  Vincennes 


442  FRENCH  SETTLEMENTS  ON  THE  WABASH. 


As  it  is  necessary  for  a commissary 
of  Indian  affairs  at  this  place  I cou’d 
wish  your  Excellency  wou’d  approve 
of  Mr  Edgar  a person  well  qualified 
for  it. 

His  Excellency  Sir  Guy  Carleton. 

Indorsed  : — Copy  of  a Letter  from  Lieut. 

Governor  Abbott  Superintendant 
dated  S*  Vincennes 
26th  May  1777. 

In  Sir  Guy  Carleton’s  (No.  32) 
of  1 Ith  August  1777 
(10) 


INDIANA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  PUBLICATIONS. 
Volume  II.  Number  12 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS 

AND 

PAPERS 


JACOB  PIATT  DUNN. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

THE  BOWEN-MERRILL  COMPANY. 

1894. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  following  papers  are  the  petitions  to  Congress  from 
Northwest  and  Indiana  Territories  for  the  suspension  of  the 
sixth  article  of  compact  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  and  the 
admission  of  slavery  to  the  Territory,  together  with  the 
counter  petitions,  the  reports  on  them,  and  the  accompany- 
ing documents.  There  is  one — the  Dearborn  county  pe- 
tition of  1808 — which  appears  to  be  wholly  lost,  though 
possibly  it  may  yet  be  found  in  printed  form,  and  there  is 
probably  one  petition  from  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  coun- 
ties missing,  though  this  is  not  certain.  In  addition  to  these 
I have  included  the  report  of  General  W.  Johnston  to  the 
Indiana  Legislature  in  1808,  against  the  modification  of  the 
sixth  article,  and  the  opinion  of  John  Johnson  in  Polly’s 
case.  These  are  the  principal  documents  concerning 
slavery  in  Indiana,  and  most  of  them  are  hitherto  unpub- 
lished, or  have  practically  disappeared  in  their  published 
form. 

The  object  of  this  publication  is  simply  to  gather  and 
preserve  them.  The  consideration  of  their  origin,  their 
significance  and  their  results  forms  the  greater  part  of  my 
“Indiana”  in  the  American  Commonwealth  Series,  to 
which  are  referred  those  who  may  be  interested  in  the 
subject. 

J.  P.  DUNN. 

Indianapolis , February  8,  189/}. 


(445) 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS 


THE  PETITION  OF  1796. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Public  Lands,  Vol.  I,  p.  61.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  the  humble  petition  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  counties  of  St.  Clair  and  Randolph,  in  the  Illinois  country, 
respectfully  showeth : 

That  the  sixth  article  of  compact  contained  in  the  ordi- 
nance of  Congress  of  1787,  for  the  government  of  the 
Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio,  which  declares  “That 
there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in 
the  said  Territory,  otherwise  than  in  the  punishment  of 
crimes,”  is,  as  your  petitioners  humbly  conceive,  not  only 
contrary  to  the  promise  and  assurances  made  them,  on 
behalf  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  by  the  then  Colonel,  after- 
wards Brigadier-General  George  Rogers  Clark,  on  his 
taking  possession  of  this  country  in  the  name  of  the  said 
State,  whose  troops  he  then  commanded,  but  also  contrary 
to  an  express  fundamental  principle  in  all  free  countries, 
“ that  no  ex  post  facto  laws  should  ever  be  made.” 

Your  petitioners  then  were,  and  now  are,  possessed  of  a 
number  of  slaves,  which  the  article  above  recited  seems  to 
deprive  them  of,( perhaps  inadvertently,)  without  their  con- 
sent or  concurrence.  It  may  be  said,  as  it  is  the  better 
opinion,  that  all  such  as  were  slaves  at  the  date  of  that 
ordinance  are  to  continue  so  during  their  lives  ; but  then 
it  is  also  said  that  the  issue  of  such  slaves,  born  after  that 

(447) 


SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


448 

period,  are  absolutely  free.  Your  petitioners,  however, 
humbly  contend  that  such  after-born  issue  are  as  much 
slaves  as  those  born  before,  because  the  owners  of  their 
parents  have  and,  as  your  petitioners  humbly  conceive, 
always  had  as  fixed  and  incontrovertible  a right  to,  and 
interest  in,  the  future  issue  and  increase  of  such  slaves  as 
they  have  to  the  slaves  themselves.  That,  notwithstand- 
ing the  articles  in  the  said  ordinance  are  said  to  be  44  Arti- 
cles of  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the  peo- 
ple and  States  of  the  said  Territory/’  it  is,  however,  a truth 
that  they  were  made  ex  'parte  by  the  original  States  only ; 
for  sure  your  petitioners  are  that,  if  the  people  then  in  the 
Territory  had  been  called  upon  to  make  such  compact, 
they  never  would  have  consented  to  enter  into  one  that 
would  deprive  them  of  their  most  valuable  property. 

Your  petitioners  humbly  hope  they  will  not  be  thought 
presumptuous  in  venturing  to  disapprove  of  the  article  con- 
cerning slavery  in  toto,  as  contrary  not  only  to  the  interest, 
but  almost  to  the  existence  of  the  country  they  inhabit, 
where  laborers  can  not  be  procured  to  assist  in  cultivating 
the  grounds  under  one  dollar  per  day,  exclusive  of  wash- 
ing, lodging  and  boarding  ; and  where  every  kind  of  trades- 
men are  paid  from  a dollar  and  a half  to  two  dollars  per 
day ; neither  is  there,  at  these  exorbitant  prices,  a suffi- 
ciency of  hands  to  be  got  for  the  exigencies  of  the  inhab- 
itants, who,  attached  to  their  native  soil,  have  rather  chose 
to  encounter  these  and  many  other  difficulties  than,  by 
avoiding  them,  remove  to  the  Spanish  dominions,  where 
slavery  is  permitted,  and  consequently,  the  price  of  labor 
much  lower. 

Your  petitioners  do  not  wish  to  increase  the  number  of 
slaves  already  in  the  dominions  of  the  United  States ; all 
they  hope  for  or  desire  is,  that  they  may  be  permitted  to 
introduce  from  any  of  the  United  States  such  persons, 
and  such  only,  as  by  the  laws  of  such  States  are  slaves 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


449 


therein.  This  request,  your  petitioners  humbly  hope,  will 
not  be  objected  to  as  unreasonable,  even  by  the  greatest 
opposers  to  slavery,  seeing  they  do  not  pray  for  the  intro- 
duction of  any  foreign  slaves  into  the  Territory. 

It  is  laid  down  by  Blackstone,  in  his  Commentaries,  Vol. 
I.,  pages  424,  425  : “That  a slave  or  negro,  the  moment 
he  lands  in  England,  becomes  a freeman,  that  is,  the  law 
will  protect  him  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  person  and  prop- 
erty. Yet,  with  regard  to  any  right  which  the  master  may 
have  acquired  to  the  perpetual  service  of  John  or  Thomas, 
this  will  remain  exactly  in  the  same  state  as  before  ; for 
this  is  no  more  than  the  same  state  of  subjection  for  life, 
which  every  apprentice  submits  to  for  the  space  of  seven 
years,  and  sometimes  for  a longer  term.  And  whatsoever 
service  a negro  owed  to  his  American  master,  the  same  is 
he  bound  to  render  when  brought  to  England.”  It  may 
then  be  clearly  deduced  from  the  above  authority,  that  any 
person  purchasing,  or  otherwise  acquiring  a slave  in  any 
of  the  States,  is  entitled  to  his  perpetual  service  in  this 
Territory  as  a servant ; but,  as  a diversity  may  happen  in 
the  opinions  of  different  judges,  your  petitioners,  therefore, 
humbly  desire  and  request,  should  it,  in  the  wisdom  of 
Congress,  be  thought  unadvisable  to  repeal  the  article 
concerning  slavery  in  toto,  that  a law  may  be  passed  de- 
claratory of  the  above  maxim  laid  down  by  Blackstone, 
but  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  thought  necessary  ; 
and  that,  in  such  case,  it  may  be  thereby  declared  how 
far,  and  for  what  period  of  time,  the  masters  of  servants 
are  to  be  entitled  to  the  service  of  the  children  of  parents 
born  during  such  servitude,  as  an  indemnity  for  the  ex- 
pense of  bringing  them  up  in  their  infancy. 

This  mode,  it  is  humbly  conceived,  will  obviate  any  ob- 
jections that  may  be  made  to  the  continuation  or  introduc- 
tion of  slavery  into  the  Territory,  even  by  its  most  strenu- 
ous opposers  ; will  undoubtedly  ameliorate  the  condition 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


45° 

of  those  who,  being  slaves  in  the  United  States,  may  be 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  brought  into  the  Territory  as  servants 
for  life  ; and  will  be  the  means,  perhaps,  in  a great  de- 
gree, of  attaining  that  object  so  much  wished  for  by  some 
— “ a gradual  abolition  of  slavery.” 

And  your  petitioners  further  beg  leave  to  represent  that 
the  resolves  of  Congress,  of  20th  June  and  29th  August, 
1788,  making  a donation  of  four  hundred  acres  of  land  to 
each  of  those  who  were  heads  of  families  in  the  Illinois 
country,  in  the  year  1783,  do,  generally  speaking,  direct 
the  same  to  be  laid  off  on  lands  the  private  property  of 
different  inhabitants  in  the  respective  villages  therein,  who 
claim  the  same  by  virtue  of  grants  made  thereof,  in  fee, 
by  the  former  Governments  of  the  country ; and  that, 
especially,  every  foot  of  land  (Fort  Chartres  excepted) 
between  the  ridge  of  rocks  and  the  River  Mississippi,  and 
between  the  mouth  of  the  River  Kaskaskia  and  the  villages 
of  Kaskaskia,  Prairie  du  Rochers  and  St.  Phillip’s  and 
for  several  miles  upwards,  is  private  property,  the  same 
having,  as  before  mentioned,  been  granted  and  conceded 
in  fee  by  authority  of  the  French  Government,  and  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  divers  private  individuals.  And 
they  beg  leave  also  to  observe  that  the  lands  on  the  face 
of  the  said  ridge  of  rocks,  and  for  some  distance  in  the 
rear  are  broken  limestone  lands,  full  of  sink-holes,  with, 
in  general,  but  a very  thin  soil,  and  in  many  places  none 
at  all,  the  rocks  appearing  on  the  surface,  so  that  they  are 
not  of  any  present  value  or  utility ; that  there  is,  however 
a body  of  good  farming  lands  on  the  Kaskaskia  River,  a 
few  miles  above  the  village  of  that  name,  at  a place  called 
“the  Long  Prairie,”  where  they  would  wish  to  lay  their 
donation  lands  on  ; and,  as  it  was  the  humane  intention  of 
the  then  Congress  to  give  such  of  your  petitioners  as  are 
entitled  thereto  such  lands  as  would  prove  a resource  to 
them  whenever  the  Indian  trade  should  be  exhausted,  and 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


451 


which  is  now  in  a manner  entirely  decayed,  they  can  not 
but  hope  that  they  will  be  permitted  to  lay  the  same  at 
that  place,  the  Indian  titles  to  which,  they  are  credibly  in- 
formed, are  extinguished.  This  method  of  laying  off  the 
donation  lands  in  one  compact  body  will,  they  humbly 
submit,  be  more  beneficial  to  the  United  States  than  lay- 
ing them  off  according  to  the  last  law,  in  four  different 
bodies,  for  the  four  respective  villages. 

And  your  petitions  further  show  that,  by  a late  law  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  ordained  that  the  expense  of  sur- 
veying the  lands  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes 
should  be  defrayed  by  the  public  ; and  as  the  same  reasons 
which  conduced  to  the  making  of  that  law  may  be  equally 
applied  to  the  Illinois  country,  they  have  every  reason  to 
hope  that  no  distinction  will  be  made  between  the  inhabi- 
tants of  both  places,  and  that,  therefore,  the  beneficial 
effects  thereof  will  be  also  extended  to  them. 

Your  petitioners,  therefore,  humbly  pray  that  the  sixth 
article  of  compact  in  the  ordinance  of  1787  may  either  be 
repealed  or  altered,  so  as  to  give  permission  to  introduce 
slaves  into  the  said  Territory  from  any  of  the  original 
States,  or  otherwise ; that  a law  may  be  made  permitting 
the  introduction  of  such  slaves  as  servants  for  life,  and 
that  it  may  be  enacted  for  what  period  the  children  of  such 
servants  shall  serve  the  master  of  their  parents.  That  the 
expense  of  surveying  their  lands  may  be  paid  by  the 
United  States  ; that  they  may  be  permitted  to  lay  their 
donation  of  four  hundred  acres  of  land  at  the  said  prairie, 
called  the  Long  prairie,  and  running  up  the  River  Kaskas- 
kia,  in  such  form  as  may  be  directed  by  law  for  quantity  ; 
and  that  they  may  have  such  further  and  other  relief  in  the 
premises  as  to  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  the  United  States 
may  seem  meet.  And  your  petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound, 
shall  ever  pray,  etc. 


45  2 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


For  and  on  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  coun- 
ties of  St.  Clair  and  Randolph. 

John  Edgar. 

Wm.  Morrison. 
Wm.  St.  Clair. 

4 John  Dumoulin. 

Kaskaskia , January  12 , 1796. 


Report  on  the  Preceding  Petition. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Public  Lands,  Vol.  I,  p.  60.) 

4th  Congress.  1st  Session. 

The  Exchange  of  Certain  Donations  of  Land  in  the 
Northwestern  Territory. 

Communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives , May  12, 1796. 

Mr.  Coit,  from  the  committee  to  which  was  referred  the 
petition  of  John  Edgar  and  others,  in  behalf  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  counties  of  St.  Clair  and  Randolph,  in  the 
Illinois  country,  made  the  following  report: 

That  the  petitioners  pray  for  some  alteration  or  modifi- 
cation of  that  part  of  the  ordinance  of  Congress,  passed 
on  the  13th  day  of  July,  1787,  for  the  government  of  the 
Territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  River  Ohio  ; 
which  declares  it  as  one  of  the  “articles  of  compact  be- 
tween the  original  States  and  the  people  and  States  in  the 
said  Territory,  and  forever  to*  remain  unalterable,  unless 
by  common  consent ; that  there  shall  be  neither  slavery 
nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  Territory.” 

The  petitioners  being  only  four  in  number,  and  produc- 
ing no  power  by  which  they  claim  to  petition,  even  in  be- 
half of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  counties  ; and  no  evi- 
dence appearing  of  the  wishes  of  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  said  counties  ; and  your  committee  having  informa 
tion  that  an  alteration  of  the  ordinance,  in  the  manne 
prayed  for  by  the  petitioners,  would  be  disagreeable  t< 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


453 


many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Territory:  they  have 
conceived  it  needless  to  enter  into  any  consideration  of  the 
policy  of  the  measure,  being  persuaded  that,  if  it  could  be 
admissible,  under  any  circumstances,  a partial  application, 
like  the  present,  could  not  be  listened  to ; they  are,  there- 
fore, of  opinion  that  this  part  of  the  prayer  of  the  petition 
ought  not  to  be  granted. 

The  petitioners  further  state  that,  by  a resolve  of  Con- 
gress, passed  on  the  20th  day  of  June,  1778,  provision  was 
made  for  laying  off  certain  lands  to  the  heads  of  families 
residing  in  the  Illinois  country  ; and  that  a great  part,  if 
not  the  whole,  of  the  locations  where  the  said  lands  were 
ordered  to  be  laid  out  is  covered  by  titles  acquired  under 
the  ancient  Government  of  the  country  ; and  that  part  of 
the  said  locations  is  rocky  and  of  little  value:  wherefore, 
they  pray  that  the  said  lands  may  be  ordered  to  be  laid 
out  in  a different  place,  and  at  the  public  expense. 

The  committee  find  that,  by  the  said  resolve,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States,  Northwest  of 
the  River  Ohio  was  authorized  and  directed  to  lay  out,  as 
a donation  to  each  of  the  families  residing  in  the  several 
villages  of  Kaskaskia,  Kahokia,  La  Prairie  du  Rochers, 
Fort  Chartres,  and  St.  Philip’s,  four  hundred  acres  of  land, 
in  three  parallelograms,  adjoining  to  the  villages  of  Kas- 
kaskia, La  Prairie  du  Rochers,  and  Kahokia,  and  be- 
tween the  River  Mississippi  and  a ledge  of  rocks  which 
runs  from  the  Kaskaskia  to  the  River  Illinois,  at  the  public 
expense.  That,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  3d 
of  March,  1791,  the  said  Governor  was  authorized  and  di- 
rected to  confirm  all  lands  which  had  been  actually  im- 
proved and  cultivated,  at  Vincennes  or  in  the  Illinois 
country  under  a supposed  grant  of  the  same,  by  any  com- 
mandant or  court  claiming  authority  to  make  such  grant 
to  the  persons  who  have  made  such  improvements,  or  such 
parts  thereof,  as  he,  in  his  discretion,  might  judge  reason- 


454 


SLANERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


able,  not  exceeding,  to  any  person,  four  hundred  acres  ; 
and  the  said  Governor  was  lurther  directed  to  lay  out  the 
said  donation  lands  agreeably  to  the  said  resolve  of  the 
20th  of  June,  1788. 

The  committee  are  not  informed  that  any  proceedings 
have  been  had  under  the  resolve  or  act  aforesaid,  as  rela- 
tive to  the  people  living  at  Kaskaskia,  La  Prairie  du 
Rochers,  Kahokia,  Fort  Chartres,  or  St.  Philip’s  ; and  are 
informed  by  the  Governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory 
that  the  locations  pointed  out  in  the  said  resolve  for  the 
said  donation  lands  are  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  covered  by 
grants  made  under  the  ancient  government  of  the  country, 
or  by  irregular  grants,  which  are  confirmed  by  the  act 
aforesaid. 

By  the  late  Indian  treaty,  Post  Vincennes,  on  the  Wa- 
bash, and  the  lands  adjacent,  of  which  the  Indian  title  has 
been  extinguished,  and  the  lands  at  all  other  places  in  the 
possession  of  the  French  people,  and  other  white  settlers 
among  them,  of  which  the  Indian  title  had  been  extin- 
guished, are  reserved  to  the  United  States  ; whether  the 
lands  on  which  the  petitioners  pray  to  have  their  donations 
laid  are  included  within  these  reservations  does  not  ap- 
pear with  certainty,  although  it  is  presumed  they  are  not 
claimed  by  any  Indian  tribe. 

It  not  appearing  how  much  of  the  lands,  on  which  the  said 
donations  were  originally  directed  to  be  laid,  is  not  cov- 
ered by  the  said  ancient  grants,  and  it  being  probable 
that  there  does  not  remain  uncovered  by  the  said  grants  a 
sufficiency  for  satisfying  the  said  donations,  the  public 
faith  engaged  to  the  people  settled  at  those  villages  seems 
to  require  that  some  further  provision  should  be  made. 
The  committee,  therefore,  submit  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  Northwest 
of  the  River  Ohio  be  authorized  and  directed  to  cause  to 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


455 

be  laid  out  certain  donation  lands  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
villages  of  Kaskaskia,  La  Prairie  au  Rochers,  Kahokia, 
Fort  Chartres,  and  St.  Philip’s,  in  manner  as  directed  by 
a resolve  of  Congress  of  the  20th  of  June,  178S,  on  any 
lands  of  equal  value  with  those  in  the  location  directed  by 
the  said  resolve,  in  the  vicinity  of  those  villages,  which  are 
the  property  of  the  United  States,  and  to  which  the  Indian 
title  has  become  extinct. 


PETITION  OF  OCTOBER  1,  1800. 

(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  Senate  Files.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  Assembled,  the  humble  petition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  counties  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair,  in  the  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, respectfully  shevoeth : 

That  your  Petitioners  and  their  forefathers,  Inhabitants 
of  the  Illinois  country  prior  to  the  ordinance  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  north-west  of 
the  River  Ohio,  possessed  a number  of  Slaves,  with  whose 
assistance  in  the  Cultivation  of  the  Earth,  together  with  the 
Indian  Trade,  which  was  then  considerable,  they  lived  in 
affluence  ; that  those  slaves  were  held  under  the  laws  of 
French  and  English  Government,  and  also  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  Virginia  during  the  time  this  Country  was 
esteemed  a part  of  that  State  ; that  on  the  arrival  of  Gov- 
ernor St.  Clair,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety,  your  Petitioners  were  surprised  and  grieved  to 
find,  from  the  first  official  Information  given  them,  that  an 
Ordinance  had  been  made  by  Congress  for  their  Govern- 
ment which,  in  effect,  tended  to  deprive  them  of  their  most 
valuable  property,  and  which  in  its  Consequence,  as  was 
then  easily  foreseen,  has  reduced  them  to  the  most  abject 
state  of  Poverty  and  distress,  the  most  wealthy  of  the  In- 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


456 

habitants  having  immediately  removed  with  their  families 
and  Effects  into  the  Spanish  Dominions  ; that  the  Emigra- 
tion from  sundry  parts  of  the  United  States  into  the  Span- 
ish Province  of  Louisiana  is  immense,  much  more  so  than 
is  generally  thought,  and  among  them  numbers  of  wealthy, 
reputable  and  industrious  persons,  all,  or  the  most  part  of 
whom,  but  for  the  absolute  prohibition  of  Slavery  or  Servi- 
tude, would  settle  in  this  Territory. 

Although  your  Petitioners  are  opposed  to  an  uncondi- 
tional state  of  Slavery,  and  venerate  the  philanthropy 
which  caused  the  prohibition  of  it  and  of  involuntary 
Servitude  in  the  Ordinance  for  the  Government  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, yet  they  can  not  but  entertain  the  hope  that  a mode 
adapted  as  well  to  ameliorate  the  Condition  of  the  unfortu- 
nate people  concerned  as  to  establish  a gradual  abolition 
of  Slavery  will  meet  with  your  approbation. 

The  mode  your  Petitioners  wish  and  pray  you  to  adopt 
is  to  permit  of  the  Introduction  into  the  Territory  of  any  of 
those  who  are  Slaves  in  any  of  the  United  States  who, 
when  admitted,  shall  continue  in  a state  of  Servitude  dur- 
ing their  Natural  lives,  but  that  all  their  children  born  in 
the  Territory  shall  serve  the  males  untill  thirty-one  and  the 
females  untill  twenty-eight,  at  which  time  they  are  to  be 
absolutely  free.  To  the  adoption  of  such  a modification 
of  Slavery  your  Petitioners  can  not  conceive  any  well 
founded  objections  will  be  made.  It  can  not  but  meet 
with  the  support  of  those  who  are  friends  to  the  gradual 
abolition  of  Slavery,  and  your  Petitioners  can  not  entertain 
the  Idea  that  any  will  be  found  to  oppose  a measure  which 
in  the  course  of  a very  few  years  will,  in  all  human  proba- 
bility, rescue  from  the  vilest  state  of  Bondage  a number, 
and  without  doubt  a considerable  number,  of  Souls  yet  un- 
born. Your  Petitioners  do  not  wish  to  increase  the  num- 

p 

ber  of  Slaves  in  the  United  States  by  the  introduction  of 
any  from  foreign  Dominions.  Their  wishes,  on  the  con 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


457 


trary,  tend  considerably  to  diminish  the  number  by  eman- 
cipating those  who,  whether  born  in  the  United  States 
where  their  parents  reside  or  removed  into  the  Spanish 
Dominions,  would  otherwise  be  born  Slaves. 

And  your  Petitioners  further  shew  that  they  experience 
all  the  Inconvenience  arising,  as  well  from  a want  of  a suffi- 
ciency of  Lands  open  to  a settlement  to  admit  of  a popula- 
tion adequate  to  the  support  of  ordinary  County  Establish- 
ments as  from  the  want  of  publick  roads  and  houses  of 
Entertainment  to  the  seat  of  Government. 

That  without  the  beneficent  interposition  of  the  United 
States  in  extinguishing  the  Indian  Titles,  if  any  exist,  to 
the  lands  in  their  neighborhood,  and  in  granting  certain 
tracts  of  lands  between  the  Illinois  and  Vincennes  at  the 
distances  of  a day’s  Journey  each  from  the  other  to  those 
who  would  open  roads  between  those  places  and  keep 
houses  of  Entertainment  thereon,  they  must  continue  to 
endure  those  Inconveniences  which  become  daily  more  felt 
from  the  increase  of  Business  and  intercourse  between  the 
seat  of  Government  and  this  Country. 

Your  Petitioners  beg  leave  to  observe  that  the  Kaskaskia 
Tribe  of  Indians,  who  alone  can  claim  the  Country  in  their 
neighborhood,  do  not  exceed  fifteen  in  number,  and  that 
their  Title  may  be  purchased  on  very  easy  and  moderate 
terms. 

And,  lastly,  your  Petitioners  shew  that  for  many  years 
prior  to  the  Treaty  of  Greenville  they  suffered  innumerable 
acts  of  Cruelty  from  the  Indians  in  their  neighbourhood  ; 
that  they  fondly  hoped  that  Treaty  would  have  secured 
them  from  a repetition  of  the  former  depredations.  They 
have,  however,  sincerely  to  lament  that  their  hopes  have 
not  been  realized,  but  that  as  an  extensive  defenseless 
frontier  they  are  daily  exposed  to  their  depredations,  and 
will  continue  to  be  so  unless  protected  by  the  Establishment 
of  one  or  two  Garrisons  in  the  Country. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


458 

Altho,  your  Petitioners  are  not  immediately  repre- 
sented in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  they  have, 
nevertheless,  from  Experience,  the  Satisfaction  to  know 
that  their  Interest  and  Welfare  are  always  attended  to  in 
your  honourable  Houses. 

They,  therefore,  humbly  pray  : 

1.  That  the  sixth  Article  of  Compact  contained  in  the 
Ordinance  for  the  Government  of  the  Territory  may  be  so 
modified  as  to  admit  of  the  Introduction  of  Slaves  from  any 
of  the  United  States,  to  continue  as  such  for  their  natural 
lives,  but  that  the  issue  of  such  Slaves  born  in  the  Territory 
may  be  declared  free — the  males  at  31  and  the  females  at 
28  years. 

2.  That  the  Indian  Titles,  if  any  exist,  to  the  lands  in  their 
neighbourhood,  viz.  : From  the  rocking  Cave  on  the  Ohio, 
which  is  situated  about  forty  miles  above  Fort  Massac, 
thence  in  a northerlv  course  untill  it  meets  the  Illinois  river, 
thence  down  that  river  to  its  discharge  into  the  Mississippi, 
thence  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
thence  up  the  Ohio  to  the  place  of  Beginning,  may  be  ex- 
tinguished and  then  sold  to  Settlers. 

That  tracts  of  land  at  the  distance  of  a day’s  Journey 
from  each  other  may  be  ceded  to  those  who  will  undertake 
to  open  a Road  between  the  Illinois  and  Vincennes,  and 
keep  houses  of  Entertainment  thereon  for  five  years  at  least 
to  come  for  the  accommodation  of  Travellers. 

And  that  one  or  two  Garrisons  may  be  established  in  the 
Country,  or  that  such  other  mode  may  be  adopted  for  the 
Relief  and  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Settlement  of  this 
frontier  part  of  the  union,  as  to  you,  in  your  Wisdom,  shall 
seem  meet,  And  your  Petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall 
ever  Pray,  etc. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


459 


ist  October,  1800. 


Jno.  Rice  Jones, 

William  Morrison, 

Basil  Lachapelle, 

J.  Edgar, 

Moses  Oliver, 

Pier  Perat, 

Joseph  McFerron, 

James  MoTrison, 

Leon  Perat, 

Robert  Morrison, 

Jean  Guittarre, 

Joseph  Archanbot, 

Js.  Edgar, 

Diego  Rodrigues, 

Fransoit  Toutous, 

Jesse  Morrison, 

Leon  Crapper, 

Louis  Lachapelle, 

Nathaniel  Crapper, 

G.  Hutte, 

Michel  Toutous, 

Thos.  Crapper, 

Wm.  King, 

Louis  Morin, 

Antoine  P.  Antire, 

Miles  Hotchkiss, 

Louis  Buatte, 

Baptist  Fortian, 

Joseph  Kioket, 

Loui  Francois, 

Jeremy  Downey, 

Hipolite  Menard, 

John  Baptiste  Moutrie, 

Jean  Adrian  Lanaurd, 

Antoine  Lachapelle,  John  Baptiste  Moutrie,  Jun’r, 

Michel  Paitque', 

Toussin  .Sinical, 

Francois  Ruseau, 

Batite  Lachapelle, 

Louis  Chehbeurlend, 

Pierre  Le  Paneie, 

Chariot  Boutin, 

Louis  Chenbeurlend 

Anthony  Moutrie, 

Batiste  Chenbeurlend, 

Jendron  Perre, 

Charles  Jandron, 

Enris  Bienvenues, 

Baptiste.  Jendron, 

Josephe  Jendron, 

Josephe  Page, 

Dani,\ 

Chatti  Danij, 

Michel  Danij, 

Antoinne  Danij, 

Josefe  Hieviere, 

John  Kidd, 

Antoine  Provo, 

Vitti  Hieviere, 

Josefe  Toutous, 

Batiste  Toiniche, 

Michel  Hieviere, 

Allexe  Bowie, 

Jerom  Bowie, 

John  Doyle, 

Joseph  Bovoiet, 

Cola  Buaijte, 

Alexis  Bovoiet, 

Joseph  Navanel, 

John  Spannart, 

Antoine  Bienvenue  Pere, 

Michel  Danij, 

Bte.  Barbau, 

Francois  Camus, 

Robt.  McMahon, 

Ch.  Louvin, 

Louis  Periaux, 

David  Barber, 

Bois, 

Antoine  Catineaux, 

La  Soude-, 

Pierre  Ahar, 

Rene  Coder, 

Jacques  Boutitinte, 

Tourgoie, 

Baptiste  Coder, 

Antoine  Louviere  fils, 

Auguste  Ahar, 

Joseph  Lavoir, 

Etien  Langlois, 

Pierre  Compte, 

Lionay,. 

Baptiste  Cotineau, 

Nichola  Olivier, 

Jacques  Degagniez, 

Josephe  Blay, 

D’amour>  Louviere, 

Pierre  Degagnier, 

Compte, 

George  Wittmer, 

Ambrose  Vasseur, 

Duclos, 

Decochy, 

Francois  Langlois 

Andre  Barbau, 

Domingue, 

Pierre  Lajoye, 

Baptiste  Lajoye, 

Joseph  Vasseur, 

Charles  Langlois, 

Baptiste  Perrin, 

Toiton, 

Joseph  Coder, 

Pierre  Pana, 

William  Akerman, 

Tusente  Baverelle, 

R.  Calhoun, 

James  M-cNabb, 

S.  A.  Boyles, 

John  Crafford, 

John  Wheeldon, 

William  Goinges, 

H.  Biggs, 

John  Hay, 

Daniel  Thorn, 

SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


460 


Shadrach  Bond, 
Denis  Valanten, 
Geo.  Blair, 


George  Atchison, 
James  Cremour, 
B.  Saucier, 


Js.  Dumoulin,  Perrey, 

his  his 

Francois  X Grondine,  Jean  X Meunier, 

mark. 


mark. 

James  H.  Tate, 

William  Scott,  Sen’r, 

Joseph  Heris, 

John  Whiteside, 

William  Scott,  Jun’r, 
his 

Louis  X LeBrun, 
mark, 
his 

Michette  X Pitette, 
mark. 

Parat  Siteng, 

Pierre  Cheautien, 
Francois  Charpage, 
T.  Brady, 

Wm.  Whiteside, 

Fr.  Turgotte, 

Louis  Pinsoneau, 
Louis  Pois.son, 

John  Ritchie,  Jun’r, 
George  Atcheson, 
John  Marney, 

Wm.  Anderson, 
Samuel  Stroud, 
Adam  Stroud, 


John  Singleton, 
Hendry  Mall, 

Jacob  Short, 

Abram  Clark, 

David  Waddell, 
John  Caldwell, 
his 

Antoin  X Veaudry, 
mark. 

N.  Biron, 

Arren  Gettie, 

Pe  Laperche, 
Therese  Chouteau, 
Henry  Hatten, 

Jean  Dehai, 

Pierre  Guerion, 

1 

B.  Dubuque, 
Alexander  Waddell, 

Davies  Waddell, 

| 

Jesse  Waddell, 

Jehu  Scott, 

John  Dimpsey, 

Patt  Honeberry, 


Henry  and  John  O’Hara,  Wm.  Porter, 


James  Wilson, 
John  Kinzie, 

Wm.  Jonston, 
William  Chalfin, 
James  Dunn, 
Amos  Chalfin, 
James  Henderson, 
Abraham  Kinney, 


George  Roberts, 
William  Robins, 
Daniel  Star, 

John  Nowland, 
George  Ritcheson, 
Isaac  Vannatre, 
Michel  Rvan, 
Prince  Bryant, 


> 


John  Hayes, 

William  Arundel, 

Robert  Hamilton, 
his 

Louis  X Le  Compte, 
mark. 

Etn.  Pinsono, 

Louis  Petit, 
his 

Joseph  X Poupard,  Jun’r, 
mark. 

Joseph  Poupard,  Sen’r, 
his 

Nicolas  X Boismeneu, 
mark.' 

William  Nichols, 
Baguine, 

Jean  Louis  St.»  Germain, 

Michel  Beaulieu, 

Jean  Beaulieu, 

Francois  Chanalle, 
Michel  Lagrave, 
Francois  Demet, 

Louis  Dubois, 

N.  Garrote, 

James  Waddell, 

Samuel  Kinkead, 

Jan  Hendick  Van  der  Poeb 
Henry  Cook, 

Ichabod  Badgley, 

Aaron  McDaniels, 
Solomon  Teter, 

Solomon  Shook, 

Robert  Leinen, 

Daniel  Sink, 

John  Robins, 

George  Vallantine, 
Calvin  Curry, 

Thomas  Todd, 

Daniel  Mull, 

Clement  Dr*ury, 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


461 


W.  Hull, 

William  Drury, 
George  Fisher, 

John  Fisher, 
William  Alexander, 
John  Grooms, 

W.  E.  Morrison, 
Francis  Le  Meaud, 
Blaise  Barutal, 

T.  Newburg, 

Joseph  Trotier, 

St.  Aldieumet, 
Amos  Pettit. 


William  McGloghton, 
Robert  Smith, 
William  Dunn, 
William  Kinney, 
Clement  Drury, 
Parker  Grosvenor, 
Allexy  Doza, 

Louis  Le  Meaud, 
Robert  McMahon, 

W.  Willson, 

William  Kelly, 
Abraham  Kenney, 


Raphel  Drury, 
Henry  Jones, 

Sam’l  S.  Spencer, 
Roger  Selden, 
Ralph  Drury, 

T.  Morrison, 
Clodius  Le- Meaud, 
Michael  Smith, 
Abraham  Levin, 
David  Palmier, 
James  Anderson, 
Joseph  Kenney. 


It  was  laid  on  the  table 
Annals  6th  Congress, 


(Address  on  back.) 

“To  the  Honorable,  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America.” 

(Indorsement.) 

“The  Petition  of  Inhabitants  of 
Indiana  Territory.” 

January  23,  1801. 

L.  6 Cong., 

2nd  Sess. 

L 

Note. — No  report  was  made  on  this  petition, 
when  presented,  and  no  further  action  was  taken. 
P-  735- 


PETITION  OF  THE  VINCENNES  CONVENTION. 

(Copy  of  original  paper.  House  Files.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  the  memorial  a?id  Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Indiana  Territory  respectfully  Sheiveth: 

That  nine-tenths  of  your  memorialists  being  of  opinion, 
that  the  sixth  article  of  Compact  contained  in  the  ordi- 
nance for  the  Government  of  the  Territory  has  been  ex- 
tremely prejudicial  to  their  Interest  and  welfare,  requested 


462  SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

the  Governor  by  petitions  from  each  of  the  several  coun- 
ties to  call  a general  convention  of  the  Territory  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  the  sense  of  the  whole  People  by  their 
Representatives  on  a subject  to  them  so  interesting  and  of 
afterwards  taking  such  measures  as  to  them  might  seem 
meet  by  petition  to  your  honorable  Bodies  not  only  for  ob- 
taining the  repeal  or  suspension  of  the  said  article  of  Com- 
pact but  also  for  that  of  representing  and  Petitioning  for 
the  passage  of  such  other  Laws  as  would  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Convention  be  conducive  to  the  general  welfare, 
population  and  happiness  of  this  distant  and  unrepresented 
portion  of  the  United  States. 

This  convention  is  now  sitting  at  Vincennes  and  have 
agreed  to  make  the  following  representations  to  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  not  in  the  least  doubting  but 
that  everything  they  can  desire  (not  prejudicial  to  the  Con- 
stitution or  to  the  Interest  of  the  General  Government) 
will  readily  be  granted  them. 

The  Sixth  article  of  Compact  between  the  United  States 
and  the  people  of  the  Territory  which  declares  that  there 
shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  it  has 
prevented  the  Country  from  populating  and  been  the 
reason  of  driving  many  valuable  Citizens  possessing  Slaves 
to  the  Spanish  side  of  the  Mississippi,  most  of  whom  but 
for  the  prohibition  contained  in  the  ordinance  would  have 
settled  in  this  Territory,  and  the  consequences  of  keeping 
that  prohibition  in  force  will  be  that  of  obliging  the  num- 
erous Class  of  Citizens  disposed  to  emigrate,  to  seek  an 
Asylum  in  that  country  where  they  can  be  permitted  to 
enjoy  their  property. 

Your  memorialists  however  and  the  people  they  rep- 
resent do  not  wish  for  a repeal  of  the  article  entirely,  but 
that  it  may  be  suspended  for  the  Term  of  Ten  Years  and 
then  to  be  again  in  force,  but  that  the  slaves  brought  into 
the  Territory  during  the  Continuance  of  this  Suspension 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


463 


and  their  progeny,  may  be  considered  and  continued  in 
the  same  state  of  Servitude,  as  if  they  had  remained  in 
those  parts  of  the  United  States  where  Slavery  is  permitted 
and  from  whence  they  may  have  been  removed. 

Your  memoralists  beg  leave  further  to  represent,  That 
the  quantity  of  lands  in  the  Territory  open  for  Settlement  is 
by  no  means  sufficiently  large  to  admit  of  a population  ade- 
quate to  the  purposes  of  Civil  Government.  They  therefore 
pray  that  the  Indian  titles  to  the  land  lying  between  the 
settled  part  of  the  Illinois  country  and  the  Ohio,  between 
the  general  Indian  boundary  line  running  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Kentucky  and  the  tract  commonly  called 
Clark’s  Grant  and  between  and  below  the  said  Clark’s 
Grant  and  the  Ohio  and  Wabash  Rivers,  may  be  extin- 
guished ; and  as  an  incouragement  for  a speedy  popula- 
tion of  the  Country  that  those  lands  and  all  other  public 
lands  in  the  Territory  may  be  sold  in  Smaller  Tracts  and 
at  a lower  price  than  is  now  allowed  by  the  existing 
Laws — A purchase  of  most  of  the  Country  above  men- 
tioned but  more  especially  of  that  part  lying  between  the 
Illinois  and  the  Ohio  it  is  conceived  may  be  easily  ob- 
tained from  the  Indians  and  on  very  moderate  and  advan- 
tageous Terms. 

Several  persons  (as  your  memoralists  are  informed) 
having  settled  on  the  public  lands  in  this  Territory  with 
the  intention  of  purchasing  the  same  when  offered 
A.  for  sale  by  the  United  States  are  fearful  that  advan- 
tages maybe  taken  of  their  Improvements  to  enhance 
the  Price — Your  Petitioners  therefore  pray,  That  a law 
may  be  passed  for  their  relief,  giving  the  right  of  Pre- 
emption to  all  those  who  may  have  so  settled  on  the  pub- 
lic lands,  and  also  as  one  of  the  more  sure  means  of  pop- 
ulating the  Country  as  of  enhancing  the  value  of  the 
United  States  lands  remaining  undisposed  of  in  the  Ter- 
ritory. They  further  pray,  that  provision  may  be  made 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


464 

in  the  said  Law  for  securing  a certain  part  of  every  Sec- 
tion of  Such  public  land  to  those  who  will  actually  settle 
and  cultivate  the  same. 

The  United  States  having  pledged  themselves  in  the 
Ordinance  that  Schools  and  the  means  of  Education 
should  be  forever  encouraged,  and  having  in  all  the  Sales 
of  land  heretofore  made,  reserved  considerable  portions 
thereof  for  that  purpose. 

Your  memorialists,  therefore,  humbly  pray  that  a law 
may  be  passed  making  a grant  of  lands  for  the  support  of 
Schools  and  Seminaries  of  learning  to  the  several  Settle- 
ments in  the  Illinois,  the  Settlement  of  Vincennes,  and  that 
of  Clark’s  Grant,  near  the  Rapids  of  the  Ohio. 

The  means  of  communication  as  well  between  the  sev- 
eral Settled  parts  of  the  Territory  as  between  the  Territory 
and  the  State  of  Kentucky,  being  extremely  difficult  and 
inconvenient,  as  well  for  want  of  good  Roads  as  for  want 
of  houses  of  Entertainment,  and  as  neither  of  those  objects 
can  be  obtained  otherwise  than  by  application  to  the  United 
States  who  own  or  may  own  the  lands  through  which  the 
said  Roads  must  pass. 

Your  memorialists,  therefore,  further  pray  that  a law 
may  be  enacted  granting  to  such  persons  as  the  Governor 
of  the  Territory  may  recommend,  Four  hundred  acres  of 
land  to  each  in  such  places  as  the  said  Governor  may 
designate,  not  exceeding  the  distance  of  Twenty  miles  from 
each  other,  on  the  road  leading  from  Clark  county  to  Knox 
county,  and  from  Vincennes  in  the  said  County  to  the  Bank 
of  the  Ohio  opposite  to  the  town  of  Henderson,  in  Ken- 
tucky ; also  from  Vincennes  to  Kaskaskia,  in  Randolph 
county,  and  from  thence  to  Lusk’s  Ferry  on  the  Ohio,  who 
will  open  good  waggon  roads  and  Establish  houses  of  En- 
tertainment thereon  for  Five  Years,  under  such  restrictions 
as  to  your  Wisdom  may  Seem  Necessary. 


SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  465 

And  your  Memorialists  further  beg  leave  to  represent 
that  one  of  the  most  indispensable  articles  of  life  (Salt)  is 
very  Scarse  and  difficult  to  be  obtained,  That  for  the  want 
of  a sufficient  number  of  Salt  Springs  in  their  Country,  that 
difficulty  must  increase  with  the  population,  and  if  effectual 
methods  are  not  taken  to  secure  the  Timber  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Salt  Springs  from  being  willfully  pr  care- 
lessly wasted  and  destroyed,  they  will  in  a very  few  years 
indeed  be  utterly  destitute  of  that  very  valuable  article  ; 
that  there  is  but  one  Salt  Spring  known  in  the  Country  of 
any  value,  and  that  is  situate  below  the  mouth  of  the  W abash 
River,  Commonly  called  the  Saline,  and  is  very  advanta- 
geously placed  for  the  accommodation  of  most  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  Territory,  and  has,  moreover,  been  lately 
ceded  by  the  Indians  to  the  general  Government. 

Your  memoralists,  therefore,  humbly  pray  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  to  extend  their  Bounty  to  this  Terri- 
tory as  they  have  lately  done  to  that  Northwest  of  the  Ohio, 
and  vest  the  said  Salt  Spring  in  the  Legislature  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, as  soon  as  it  is  formed  in  trust,  for  the  use  of  the 
Territory,  and  untill  the  Legislature  be  formed,  that  the 
management  of  said  spring  be  committed  to  the  Governor 
of  the  Territory,  or  to  such  other  person  as  the  President 
of  the  United  States  may  think  proper  to  appoint 

By  a Resolve  of  Congress  of  the  29th  August,  1788, 
confirmed  by  an  Act  of  the  United  States  of  the  3d 
March,  1791,  a donation  of  Four  hundred  acres  of  land 
C.  is  given  to  each  of  those  persons  who  were  heads  of 
Families  in  the  Illinois  Country  on  or  before  the  year 
1783,  which  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  was  directed  to 
cause  to  be  laid  off  to  the  several  claimants  in  a form  of  a 
Parallelogram  adjoining  the  several  Villages  therein  men- 
tioned. 

The  whole  of  the  lands  adjoining  those  Villages  were 


466  SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

before  the  passage  of  the  above  Resolve  the  private  prop- 
erty of  Individuals  who  claimed  the  same  by  Virtue  of  old 
grants  made  to  them  and  their  ancestors  during  the  time 
of  the  French  government  so  that  the  Governor  could  not 
cause  the  said  donation  to  be  laid  off  in  the  form  and  man- 
ner designated  by  the  said  Resolve. 

This-bas  been  very  detrimental  to  the  several  Grantees, 
and  in  a great  measure  prevented  the  further  population 
of  the  Countiy,  your  memorialists  however  beg  leave  to 
observe,  that  if  the  scid^dpnation  lands  are  directed  to  be 
laid  off  in  distinct  Bodies  for  each  Village,  by  far  the  great- 
est part  of  them  must  from  the  very  large  and  extensive 
Prairies  with  which  the  whole  of  that  country  abounds  be 
wholly  and  absolutely  useless  through  the  entire  want  of 
Timber. 

Your  memoralists  therefore  pray  you  to  take  the  situa- 
tion of  the  antient  Inhabitants  of  the  Illinois  Country  into 
Consideration  and  as  the  humane  Intention  of  Congress 
was  to  give  such  lands  as  would  be  useful,  that  you  will 
permit  the  said  Grantees,  their  Heirs  and  assigns  es- 
pecially after  a period  of  Fourteen  years,  to  locate  their 
said  donation  of  Four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  separate 
Tracts,  in  such  parts  of  the  Illinois  Country  to  which  the 
Indian  titles  may  have  been  extinguished,  and  that  the 
Governor  of  the  Territory  may  be  authorized  to  issue 
Patents  therefor.  This  permission  to  locate  the  lands  in 
separate  Tracts,  will  not  it  is  conceived  be  prejudicial  to 
the  United  States,  as  the  value  of  the  lands  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  each  Settled  Tract  will  thereby  be  con- 
siderable augmented. 

Your  memoralists  further  shew  that  they  view  that  part 
of  the  ordinance  for  the  Government  of  the  Territory 
which  requires  a freehold  qualification  in  fifty  acres  of 
land  as  Electors  for  members  to  the  general  assembly  as 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  467 

subversive  of  the  liberties  of  the  Citizens  and  tending  to 
throw  too  great  a weight  in  the  Scale  of  wealth — They 
therefore  pray  that  the  right  of  Suffrage  (in  voting  for 
representatives  to  the  General  assembly)  may  be  extended 
to  the  free  male  Inhabitants  of  the  Territory  of  the  age  of 
Twenty  one  years  and  upwards,  but  under  such  Regula- 
tions and  Restrictions  as  to  you  in  your  Wisdom  may  seem 
proper. 

Since  the  Erection  of  the  Territory  into  a separate  Gov- 
ernment, the  Attorney  General  thereof  has  prosecuted 
not  only  for  offenses  committed  against  the  Municipal 
Laws  of  the  Territory  but  also  against  the  Laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  has  been  obliged  at  three  different 
Times  to  travel  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  from  his 
home  to  the  seat  of  the  Territorial  Government  to  prose- 
cute offenders  against  those  Laws,  and  yet  he  has  re- 
ceived no  Compensation  for  his  Services  either  from  the 
United  States  or  the  Territory,  nor  is  it  probable  that  the 
Territory  can  afford  to  allow  him  any  Salary  for  his  future 
services. 

Your  memorialists,  therefore,  pray  that  a Law  may  be 
passed  allowing  a Salary  to  the  Attorney-General  of  the 
Territory  adequate  to  the  important  services  which  are 
rendered  by  that  officer  to  the  United  States  as  well  as  to 
the  Territory. 

Your  memorialists  are  well  aware  that  the  consideration 
of  the  numerous  objects  contemplated  by  this  memorial 
will  require  more  time  than  can  well  be  spared  from  the 
important  and  general  concerns  of  the  Union,  but  when 
they  reflect  upon  their  neglected  and  orphan-like  Situation 
they  are  emboldened  to  hope  that  their  wants  and  wishes 
will  meet  with  all  the  indulgence  and  attention  necessary 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


4 68 


to  secure  to  them  the  relief  which  is  so  essential  to  their 
welfare  and  happiness. 

Done  at  Vincennes  in  the  Indiana  Territory  the 
twenty-eighth  day  of  December  in  the  Year 
of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred 
and  Two,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  the  Twenty-Seventh. 

By  order  of  the  Convention. 

Willm  Henry  Harrison  President 
& Delegate  from  the  County  of  Knox. 

Teste 

John  Rice  Jones 

Secy 


Note. — This  is  the  seal  of  Indiana,  setting  sun,  buffalo 
and  man  cutting  tree,  but  not  the  same  as  now — the  buf- 
[seal.]  falo’s  tail  is  down  and  the  head  is  opposite  the  sun. 

The  word  Indiana  is  on  a scroll  in  the  branches  of  the 
tree. 

Indorsements. 

No.  4.  * 


Memorial  and  petition  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Indiana  Territory- 
signed  by  order  of  a convention  of 
the  said  inhabitants  by  William 
Henry  Harrison,  their  President. 

8th  February,  1803. 
Referred  to  Mr.  Randolph 
Mr.  Griswold 
Mr.  Robt.  Williams 
Mr.  Lewis  R Morris 
and 

Mr.  Hoge. 

2nd  March,  1803,  report  made  and 
referred  to  a committee  of  the 
whole  House  to-morrow. 


15th  December,  1803,  referred  to 
Mr.  Rodney,  Mr.  Boyle,  and  Mr. 
Rhea  (of  Tennessee.) 


17th  February,  1804. 

Report  made  and  referred  to  a 
committee  of  the  whole  House  on 
Monday  next. 

18th  December,  1805. 
Referred  to  Mr.  Garnett,  W. 
Morrow  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Parke,  Mr. 
Hamilton,  Mr.  Smith  (of  So.  Caro- 
lina),Mr.  Walton  and  Mr. Van  Cort- 
landt. 


13th  February,  1806. 

Select  com’ee  dischd.  from  so 
much  as  relates  to  donation  and 
preemption  right  to  lands  and  to 
the  salt  springs,  and  the  same  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  the 
public  Lands. 

14th  Feb’y  1806. 

Rep.  made  and  refd.  to  Comee 
who:  House  on  Tuesday  next. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


469 


Resolution  of  Vincennes  Convention. 

(Accompanying  the  preceding.  Copy  of  original  paper.  House  files.) 

We  the  People  of  Indiana  Territory  inhabiting  the  mid- 
dle and  western  Divisions  of  the  Country  Northwest  of  the 
Ohio,  do  by  our  Representatives  in  general  Convention 
assembled,  hereby  agree  that  the  operation  of  the  Sixth 
Article  of  Compact  between  the  United  States  and  the 
people  of  the  Territory  should  be  suspended  for  the  space 
of  ten  years  from  the  Day  that  a law  may  be  passed  by 
Congress  giving  their  Consent  to  the  Suspension  of  the 
said  Article. 

Provided  however  that  should  no  law  be  passed  by  Con- 
gress for  suspending  the  said  article  before  the  4th  day  of 
March  1805,  then  the  Consent  of  the  people  of  this  Terri- 
tory hereby  given  shall  be  void  and  of  no  effect. 

Done  at  Vincennes  in  the  Indiana  Territory  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  December  one  thousand 
Eight  hundred  and  two,  and  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States. 

By  order  of  the  Convention. 

Willm  Henry  Harrison  President 
& Delegate  from  the  County  of  Knox. 

Teste 

Jno.  Rice  Jones,  . 

[seal.]  Note. — Seal  of  Indiana  as  in  preceding. 

Indorsement . 

Accompanying  a letter  from  Will- 
iam Henry  Harrison,  President  of 
the  Convention  held  at  Vincennes  in 
the  Indiana  Territory  received  the  8th 
of  February, 1803 


470 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


Letter  of  William  Henry  Harrison. 

(Accompanying  the  preceding.  From  Ex.  Docs.  7th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.) 

In  Convention, 

Vincennes,  Indiana  Territory, 
28th  December,  1802. 

Sir — The  people  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  having  by 
their  representatives  in  general  convention  assembled,  de- 
termined to  suspend,  for  a term  of  years,  the  operation  of 
the  sixth  article  of  Compact  between  the  United  States  and 
the  people  of  the  Territory,  I have  the  honor  herewith  to 
inclose  you  for  the  information  of  the  house  of  Represen- 
tatives, the  instrument  declaratory  of  their  consent. 

I have  the  honor  to  be, 

With  perfect  respect, 

Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

(By  order  of  the  convention) 

William  Henry  Harrison,  President, 

and  Delegate  from  the  County  of  Knox. 

The  Honorable 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States. 


Report  on  the  Preceding. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Public  Lands,  Vol.  I,  p.  146.) 

7th  Congress.  2d  Session. 

Indiana  Territory. 

Communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives , March  2, 1803. 

Mr.  Randolph,  from  the  committee  to  which  was  re- 
ferred a letter  from  William  Henry  Harrison,  president  of 
the  convention  held  at  Vincennes,  declaring  the  consent 
of  the  people  of  Indiana  to  the  suspension  of  the  sixth 
article  of  compact  between  the  United  States  and  the 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


471 


people  of  that  Territory  ; also,  a memorial  and  petition  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Territory;  made  the  following 
report : 

That  the  rapid  population  of  the  State  of  Ohio  suffi- 
ciently evinces,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  that  the 
labor  of  slaves  is  not  necessary  to  promote  the  growth  and 
settlement  of  colonies  in  that  region.  That  this  labor, 
demonstrably  the  dearest  of  any,  can  only  be  employed 
to  advantage  in  the  cultivation  of  products  more  valuable 
than  any  known  to  that  quarter  of  the  United  States  ; that 
the  committee  deem  it  highly  dangerous  and  inexpedient 
to  impair  a provision  wisely  calculated  to  promote  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  northwestern  country, 
and  to  give  strength  and  security  to  that  extensive  fron- 
tier. In  the  salutary  operation  of  this  sagacious  and 
benevolent  restraint,  it  is  believed  that  the  inhabitants  <3f 
Indiana  will,  at  no  very  distant  day,  find  ample  remunera- 
tion for  a temporary  privation  of  labor  and  of  emigration. 

On  the  various  objects  of  the  memorial,  your  committee 
beg  leave  to  observe  : 

That,  an  appropriation  having  been  made,  empowering 
the  Executive  to  extinguish  Indian  titles  to  lands  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  the  particular  direction  of 
that  power  rests  entirely  with  that  department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment ; that,  to  permit  the  location  of  the  claims  under 
the  resolve  of  Congress  of  the  29th  of  August,  1788,  and 
the  act  of  the  3d  of  March,  1791  (of  whose  number  and 
extent  the  committee  are  entirely  ignorant)  in  the  mode 
pointed  out  in  the  memorial,  would  be  an  infringement 
upon  that  regular  mode  of  survey  and  of  location  which 
has  been  so  happily  adhered  to  in  relation  to  the  public 
lands.  At  the  same  time  the  committee  are  of  opinion 
that,  after  those  lands  shall  have  been  surveyed,  a certain 
number  of  townships  should  be  designated,  out  of  which 
the  claims  aforesaid  ought  to  be  satisfied.  In  a country 


472 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


abounding  in  new  and  unsettled  lands,  it  is  presumed  that 
every  individual  may  become  a proprietor  of  the  soil ; and 
inasmuch  as  the  people  of  Indiana  will,  at  a period  not  far 
distant,  be  enabled  to  establish  the  right  of  suffrage  on 
such  principles  as  the  majority  may  approve,  the  commit- 
tee deem  it  inexpedient  to  alter  a regulation  whose  effect 
is  to  retain  in  the  hands  of  persons  naturally  attached  to 
the  welfare  of  the  country  the  Government  of  a remote 
dependency,  which,  from  its  vicinage  to  the  territories  of 
foreign  States,  and  from  the  sparseness  of  its  population, 
might  otherwise  be  exposed  to  foreign  intrigue  and  in- 
fluence. 

Measures  having  been  taken  to  put  the  salt  spring  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  river  in  a situation  to  yield  every 
possible  benefit  to  the  adjacent  country,  the  committee  are 
of  opinion  that  it  is,  at  this  time,  inexpedient  to  vest  that 
property  in  the  legislature  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  From 
such  a consideration  as  they  have  been  enabled  to  bestow 
on  the  subject  at  this  late  period  of  the  session,  and  under 
the  pressure  of  accumulating  business,  they  recommend 
the  following  resolutions,  which  are  respectfully  submitted 
to  the  judgment  of  the  House : 

1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  to  suspend,  for  a 
limited  time,  the  operation  of  the  sixth  article  of  compact 
between  the  original  States  and  the  people  and  States  west 
of  the  River  Ohio. 

2.  Resolved , That  a provision,  not  exceeding  one  thirty- 
sixth  part  of  the  public  lands  within  the  Indiana  Territory, 
ought  to  be  made  for  the  support  of  schools  within  the  same. 

3.  Resolved , That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and 
he  hereby  is,  required  to  cause  an  estimate  to  be  made  of 
the  number  and  extent  of  their  claims  to  lands  under  the 
resolve  of  Congress  of  the  29th  of  August,  1788,  and  the 
act  of  the  3d  of  March,  1791  ; and  to  lay  the  same  before 
this  House  at  the  ensuing  session  of  Congress. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


473 


4.  Resolved , That  in  all  sales  of  the  public  lands  within 
the  Territory  of  Indiana,  the  right  of  preemption  be  given 
to  actual  settlers  on  the  same. 

5.  Resolved , That  it  is  inexpedient  to  grant  lands  to 
individuals  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  houses  of  enter- 
tainment, and  of  opening  certain  roads. 

6.  Resolved , That  it  is,  at  this  time,  inexpedient  to  vest 
in  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  the  salt  spring  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash  river. 

7.  Resolved , That  it  is  inexpedient  to  alter  the  existing 
regulation  of  the  right  of  suffrage  within  the  said  Terri- 
tory. 

8.  Resolved,  That  compensation  ought  to  be  made  to 
the  Attorney  General  of  the  said  Territory,  for  services 
performed  by  him  in  behalf  of  the  United  States. 

Note. — It  will  be  seen,  from  the  indorsements  on  the  petition  of  the 
Vincennes  Convention,  that  it  was  referred  year  after  year,  in  connection 
with  kindred  petitions,  and  was  acted  on  long  after  the  time  fixed  by  the 
Convention  as  the  limit  of  their  consent  to  a change  in  the  sixth  article. 


Second  Report  on  Petition  of  the  Vincennes 

Convention. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Misc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  387.) 

8th  Congress.  1st  Session. 

Slavery,  Elective  Franchise,  and  Public  Lands 
In  Indiana  Territory. 

Co7nmunicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives , February  17 , 1804- 

Mr.  Rodney,  from  the  committee  to  whom  were  referred 
a letter  from  William  Henry  Harrison,  president  of  the 
general  convention  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  of 
the  Indiana  Territory,  also  a memorial  and  petition  from 
the  said  convention,  together  with  the  report  of  a former 
committee  on  the  same  subject  at  the  last  session  of  Con- 
gress made  the  following  report: 


474 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


That  taking  into  their  consideration  the  facts  stated  in 
the  said  memorial  and  petition,  they  are  induced  to  believe 
that  a qualified  suspension,  for  a limited  time,  of  the  sixth 
article  of  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the 
people  and  States  west  of  the  river  Ohio,  might  be  pro- 
ductive of  benefit  and  advantage  to  the  said  Territory. 

They  do  not  conceive  it  would  be  proper  to  break  in 
upon  the  system  adopted  for  surveying  and  locating  public 
lands,  which  experience  has  proved  so  well  calculated  to 
promote  the  general  interest.  If  a preference  be  given  to 
particular  individuals  in  the  present  instance,  an  example 
will  be  set,  by  which  future  claimants  will  obtain  the  same 
privilege.  The  committee  are,  nevertheless,  of  opinion, 
that  after  those  lands  shall  have  been  surveyed,  a certain 
number  of  townships  should  be  designated,  out  of  which 
the  claims  stated  in  the  memorial  ought  to  be  satisfied  ; 
and  that,  for  the  encouragement  of  actual  settlers,  the 
right  of  pre-emption  should  be  secured  to  them. 

They  consider  the  existing  regulations,  contained  in  the 
ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  Territory  of  the 
United  States,  which  requires  a freehold  of  fifty  acres  as 
a qualification  for  an  elector  of  the  General  Assembly,  as 
limiting  too  much  the  elective  franchise.  They  conceive 
the  vital  principle  of  a free  Government  is,  that  taxation 
and  representation  should  go  together  after  a residence  of 
sufficient  length  to  manifest  the  intention  of  becoming  a 
permanent  inhabitant,  and  to  evince,  by  conduct  orderly 
and  upright,  that  a person  is  entitled  to  the  rights  of  an 
elector.  This  probationary  period  should  not  extend  be- 
yond two  years. 

It  must  be  the  true  policy  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
millions  of  acres  of  habitable  country  which  she  possesses, 
to  cherish  those  principles  which  gave  birth  to  her  inde- 
pendence, and  created  her  a nation,  by  affording  an 
asylum  to  the  oppressed  of  all  countries. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


475 


One  important  object  desired  in  the  memorial,  the  extin- 
guishment of  the  Indian  title  to  certain  lands,  has  been 
happily  accomplished  ; whilst  the  salt  spring  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash  river  has  also  be’en  placed  in  a situa- 
tion to  be  productive  of  every  reasonable  advantage. 

After  a careful  review  and  an  attentive  consideration  of 
the  various  subjects  contemplated  in  the  memorial  and 
petition,  the  committee  respectfully  submit  to  the  House  the 
following  resolutions,  as  embracing  all  the  objects  which 
require  the  attention  of  Congress  at  this  period  : 

Resolved , That  the  sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787, 
which  prohibited  slavery  within  the  said  Territory,  be  sus- 
pended, in  a qualified  manner,  for  ten  years,  so  as  to  per- 
mit the  introduction  of  slaves,  born  within  the  United 
States,  from  any  of  the  individual  States  : Provided , That 
such  individual  State  does  not  permit  the  importation  of 
slaves  from  foreign  countries  \ And,  -provided further , That 
the  descendants  of  all  such  slaves  shall,  if  males,  be  free  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and,  if  females,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years. 

2.  Resolved , That  every  white  free  man,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided  within  the  Territory, 
two  years,  and  within  that  time  paid  a territorial  tax  which 
shall  have  been  assessed  six  months  before  the  election, 
shall  enjoy  the  right  of  an  elector  of  members  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

3.  Resolved,  That  in  all  cases  of  sales  of  land  within  the 
Indiana  Territory,  the  right  of  pre-emption  be  given  to 
actual  settlers  on  the  same. 

4.  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and 
he  is  hereby,  required  to  cause  an  estimate  to  be  made  of 
the  number  and  extent  of  the  claims  to  lands  under  the 
resolution  of  Congress  of  the  29th  of  August,  1788,  and  the 
law  of  the  3d  of  March,  1796,  and  to  lay  the  same  before 
this  House. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


47  6 

5.  Resolved , That  provisions,  not  exceeding  one-thirty- 
sixth  part  of  the  public  lands  within  the  Indiana  Territory, 
ought  to  be  made  for  the  support  of  schools  within  the 
same. 

6.  Resolved , That  it  is  inexpedient  to  grant  lands  to  indi- 
viduals for  the  purpose  of  establishing  houses  of  entertain- 
ment, and  opening  certain  roads. 

7.  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient,  at  this  time,  to  vest  in 
the  Legislature  of  Louisiana*  Territory  the  salt  spring 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  river. 

8.  Resolved , That  compensation  ought  to  be  made  to  the 
attorney  general  of  the  said  T erritory  for  services  performed 
by  him  on  behalf  of  the  United  States. 


LEGISLATIVE  PETITION  OF  DEC.  18,  1805. 

(Copy  of  original  paper.  House  files.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  the  petition  of  the  subscribers,  members  of  the 
Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana 
Territory , and  constituting  a majority  of  the  tvjo  Houses  respectively , 
hu?nbly  sheweth 

That  inasmuch  as  there  are  several  subjects  of  legisla- 
tion, material  to  the  present  and  future  interests  of  the  In- 
diana Territory  which  are  under  the  control  of  Congress 
only,  they  think  it  prudent  and  Just  in  relation  to  their 
constituents  and  themselves  to  state  them  for  the  consider- 
ation of  your  honorable  body. 

In  the  first  place  we  would  submit  the  propriety  of  the 
introduction  of  slaves  into  this  Territory.  It  is  not  from  a 
sordid  motive  or  one  that  springs  merely  from  a view  to 
the  present  circumstances  and  situation  of  this  Country, 
that  they  urge  the  adoption  of  the  measure  but  they  con- 


*Evidently  a misprint  of  “Indiana.” 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


477 


sider  the  subject  upon  principles  of  Justice  and  policy — 
Justice  in  relation  to  slaves  and  policy  as  it  regards  the 
Southern  states.  The  slaves  that  are  possessed  south  of 
the  Potomac  render  the  future  peace  and  tranquility  of 
those  states  highly  problematical.  Their  numbers  are  too 
great  to  effect  either  an  immediate  or  a gradual  simulta- 
neous emancipation.  They  regret  the  African  that  was 
first  landed  in  the  Country  and  could  wish  that  the  invidi- 
ous distinction  between  freemen  and  slaves  was  obliterated 
from  the  United  States.  But  however  repugnant  it  may 
be  to  their  feelings,  or  to  the  principles  of  a republican 
form  of  Government,  it  was  entailed  upon  them  by  those 
over  whose  conduct  they  had  no  control.  The  evil  was 
planted  in  the  Country  when  the  domination  of  England 
overruled  the  honest  exertions  of  their  fellow-citizens,  it  is 
too  deeply  rooted  to  be  easily  eradicated,  and  it  now  rather 
becomes  a question  of  policy,  in  what  way  the  slaves  are 
to  be  disposed  of,  that  they  may  be  least  injurious  to  the 
Country  and  by  which  their  happless  condition  may  be 
ameliorated.  When  they  are  herded  together  by  hun- 
dreds they  cannot  be  as  comfortably  provided  for  as  if  they 
were  scattered  in  small  numbers  on  farms.  That  a re- 
moval to  the  Western  Territories  would  relieve  them  from 
many  of  the  hardships  and  inconveniences  to  which  they 
are  now  subjected  they  appeal  to  their  situation  in  the 
northern  parts  of  the  states  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  and 
the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  They  do  not 
conceive  that  the  greatest  influx  of  emigrants  would  in- 
crease the  number  of  blacks  to  such  a degree  as  to  render 
them  in  the  least  dangerous  to  the  future  interests  of  the 
Territory  and  with  submission  they  would  suggest  that 
dispersing  them  through  the  Western  Territories  is  the 
only  means  by  which  a gradual  emancipation  can  ever  be 
effected. 

The  Western  Territories  are  immense,  their  situation 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


478 

inviting,  emigration  astonishly  great,  the  population  west 
of  the  Ohio  must  chiefly  be  derived  from  the  Southern  and 
Western  States  where  slaves  are  most  numerous  and  if  no 
restrictions  were  imposed  but  holders  and  possessors  of 
blacks  permitted  to  remove  them  wherever  whim  or  caprice 
might  dictate,  they  would  venture  to  predict  that  in  less 
than  a century  the  colour  would  be  so  disseminated  as  to 
be  scarcely  discoverable. 

In  the  next  place  we  submit  the  propriety  of  a repeal  of 
so  much  of  the  ordinance  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty 
seven  as  relates  to  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  and 
that  every  free  male  of  free,  age  and  resident  a certain  time, 
or  such  as  are  liable  to  the  payment  of  Taxes  should  have 
a voice  in  all  elections.  Your#petitioners  conceive  that  the 
distinction  which  now  exists  between  those  who  are  not 
possessed  of  freehold  estate,  to  a certain  extent,  is  invidious 
and  unjust ; and  that  taxation  and  representation  ought  to 
be  inseparably  connected.  Those  who  contribute  to  the 
support  of  Government  ought  to  have  a voice  intthe  ad- 
ministration thereof  Property  is  in  no  instance  a test  of 
merit  or  virtue  and  they  do  not  believe  that  representative 
bodies  will  ever  be  purer  or  more  solicitous  for  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of,  and  the  impartial  administration  of  jus- 
tice in,  the  country  under  the  present  restrictions  that  if 
placed  upon  the  basis  above  mentioned. 

In  the  next  place  your  petitioners  would  propose  that  the 
United  States  should  cede  to  this  Territory  all  the  salt 
licks  and  springs  in  the  same  on  condition  that  the  Terri- 
tory should  exempt  from  taxation  for  the  Term  of  seven 
years  such  lands  as  the  United  States  may  dispose  of  here- 
after. This  measure  wou’ld  be  mutually  beneficial  to  the 
United  States  and  the  Territory.  It  would  encourage  and 
increase  a Settlement  of  Public  lands,  as  nothing  is  more 
injurious  to  emigrants  to  a new  country  than  taxation  ; 
from  the  cession  the  Territory  would  obtain  an  adequate 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


479 


compensation  for  the  proposed  exemption,  and  with  due 
submission  they  believe  that  these  licks  and  springs  might 
be  managed  by  the  Government  of  the  Territory  in  a 
manner  that  would  render  them  as  beneficial  to  the  citizens 
of  the  western  Country  as  they  were  under  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  The  citizens  of  the  Territory 
are  the  most  immediately  interested  in  the  just  and  up- 
right administration  of  whatever  relates  to  these  important 
possessions  and  in  doing  Justice  to  themselves  it  is  believed 
that  they  will  extend  their  benefits  as  far  as  the  necessities 
of  the  western  country  may  require. 

In  the  next  place  they  would  submit  the  situation  of 
various  descriptions  of  claimants  to  land  in  this  Territory. 
Under  certain  resolutions  and  acts  of  Congress  donations 
of  land  were  made  to  certain  inhabitants  thereof.  The 
donations  of  four  hundred  acres  each,  to  the  antient  in- 
habitants of  Vincennes  and  the  greater  part  of  the  settle- 
ment and  improvement  rights  as  also  the  claims  for  mili- 
tary services  have  been  satisfied.  But  the  donations  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  settlers  have  never  been 
located,  although  seventeen  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
resolution  therefor  was  passed  by  Congress.  It  is  true 
that  provision  was  made  for  this  purpose  but  it  was  calcu- 
lated to  destroy  the  end  proposed,  and  it  was  also  consid- 
ered by  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  that  he  could  not 
carry  it  into  effect.  To  locate  these  rights  as  well  as  oth- 
ers that  still  exist  in  the  country  in  a body  as  has  been 
contemplated,  would  destroy  the  munificent  object  which 
Congress  had  in  view  in  making  the  donations.  The 
prairies  comprise  much  the  largest  portion  of  the  Country 
to  the  West  of  the  Wabash,  and  if  the  locations  were  made 
together,  a great  part  of  them  would  fall  within  a Tract  of 
Country  possessed  of  neither  wood  nor  water — Your  peti- 
tioners would  therefore  beg  leave  to  suggest  as  a measure 
of  policy  and  Justice,  the  propriety  of  permitting  claimants 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


480 

to  land  under  any  resolution  or  act  of  Congress,  whose 
claims  have  been  sanctioned  by  the  Governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory, or  whose  claims  may  hereafter  be  adjusted  and  set- 
tled by  the  board  of  Commissioners  respectively  to  enter 
the  same  with  the  receiver  of  the  land  office  of  the  District 
in  which  the  claimants  may  reside,  at  such  rate  per  acre 
as  may  be  fixed  and  established  for  the  sale  of  public  lands 
and  to  receive  a quantity  of  land  at  such  rate  equal  to  the 
amount  of  their  claim,  in  such  place  as  they  may  select, 
subject  however  to  the  provisions  of  the  law  respecting 
public  sales  of  the  lands  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  next  place  your  petitioners  would  wish  to  call  the 
attention  of  your  honorable  body  to  a subject  which  they 
consider  of  the  utmost  importance.  It  is  understood  that 
application  will  be  made  to  Congress  at  their  next  Session 
for  a division  of  the  Territory.  No  measure  whatever  will 
have  a more  serious  and  pernicious  influence  on  the  inter- 
ests and  future  prosperity  of  the  Territory  than  this,  and 
from  a candid  and  impartial  examination  of  the  subject 
they  can  discover  no  plausible  reason  in  favor  of  it.  As 
it  may  Justly  be  presumed  that  those  most  familiarized 
with  the  situation  and  relative  interests  of  the  Territory 
have  an  opportunity  of  forming  a correct  estimate  of  the 
expediency  or  impropriety  of  this  measure,  they  beg  leave 
to  submit  a few  remarks  on  the  subject. 

The  seat  of  Government  is  established  at  Vincennes 
situate  as  near  the  center  between  the  western  and  eastern 
extremes  of  the  Territory  as  convenience  and  propriety 
will  admit.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  distance  from  the 
exterior  parts  of  the  Territory  to  Vincennes  operates  a 
serious  inconvenience  to  the  inhabitants  thereof.  Your 
petitioners  believe  that  there  is  no  reason  neither  Just  nor 
plausible  in  support  of  the  Opinion.  The  administration 
of  Justice,  and  of  the  Government  generally,  is  arranged 
in  such  a manner,  that  a Journey  to  Vincennes  is  in  very 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  481 

few  instances  necessary.  The  General  Court  holds  an 
annual  session  in  each  county  for  the  trial  of  issues  of  fact 
belonging  thereto  and  made  up  in  the  General  Court.  It 
is  true  that  were  there  a greater  number  of  Judges  of  the 
General  Court,  some  delay  in  the  trial  of  causes  might  be 
saved  as  there  could  be  two  instead  of  one  annual  Session 
in  each  County. 

But  the  Territory  has  recently  adopted  the  second  grade 
of  Government  by  which  a considerable  expence  must 
necessarily  be  incurred.  Taxes  will  be  as  heavy  as  the 
people  can  support  for  several  years.  Land  is  almost  the 
only  source  of  Territorial  revenue.  If  the  contemplated 
division  takes  place  one  section  of  the  Territory  will  nec- 
essarily have  to  support  the  expence  that  is  now  collected 
from  the  whole.  The  subject  is  left  to  the  consideration 
of  Congress. 

Your  petitioners  will  now  proceed  to  a subject  of  equal 
importance  and  the  consideration  of  which  is  in  some  de- 
gree connected  with  the  preceding.  They  wish  that  the 
United  States  may  be  relieved  from  the  expences  and  in- 
conveniences of  the  Territorial  Government  and  for  this 
purpose  that  the  citizens  of  the  Territory  should  be  per- 
mitted to  form  a State  Government  as  soon  as  their  popu- 
lation would  authorise  the  measure. 

At  present  the  ordianance  contemplates  a division  of  the 
Territory  into  two  States.  But  many  years  must  elapse 
before  the  two  sections  will  arrive  at  a degree  of  popula- 
tion by  which  this  desirable  object  can  be  effected.  With 
submission  they  would  therefore  propose,  to  connect  the 
two  divisions  in  one  State  Government,  until  they  sever- 
ally obtain  a population  that  will  authorise  a division  into 
two  States.  They  conceive  that  no  disadvantage  could 
result  to  the  United  States  from  this  arrangement  and 
they  are  confident  that  it  would  be  productive  of  essential 
benefits  to  the  country.  The  consideration  of  self  Gov- 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


482 

ernment  alone  is  sufficient  to  render  it  desirable.  The 
Indian  Title,  except  a part  of  the  Piankashaw  claim,  has 
been  extinguished  from  the  Miami  to  the  Mississippi ; and 
from  the  measures  recently  taken  by  the  General  Govern- 
ment for  the  Surveying  and  disposal  of  Public  Lands,  a 
short  time  will  connect  all  the  settlements  from  one  ex- 
treme of  the  Territory  to  the  other.  It  is  less  than  three 
hundred  miles  from  the  Miami  to  the  Mississippi ; from 
the  upper  settlements,  opposite  the  Missouri,  it  is  less  than 
two  hundred  miles  to  the  Ohio ; and  from  Vincennes  on 
the  Wabash  to  the  Ohio  it  is  about  fifty  miles. 

This  tract  of  countrv  lies  in  a'xonvenient  form  for  a 

J 

State.  The  character,  customs  and  manners  of  the  peo- 
ple are  nearly  the  same  ; their  respective  interests  are  the 
same  ; as  also  the  climate,  soil  and  productions.  And  the 
country  at  any  future  period  can  be  divided  into  two 
States  if  an  accumulated  population  renders  it  expedient 
or  necessary. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

August  19th,  1805. 

B.  Chambers, 

• President  of  the  Council, 

Jno.  Rice  Jones,  ) Members  of 

Pierre  Menard,)  the  L.  C., 

Jesse  B.  Thomas, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 

iM.mb.rs  of 
B.'  pT«™'  * ,h«  H-  R*P' 


Indorsements. 

No.  6. 

t 

Petition  of  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  Indiana  territory. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


483 


1 8th  December,  1805, 

referred  to  Mr.  Garnett, 

Mr.  Morrow,  of  Ohio, 

Mr.  Parke, 

Mr.  Hamilton, 

. Mr.  Smith,  of  So.  Carolina, 
Mr.  Walton,  and 
Mr.  Van  Cortlandt. 


13th  February,  1806, 

Select  Com’ee,  discharged  from  so 
much  as  relates  to  the  salt  licks  and 
springs  and  the  donation  and  pre- 
emption right  to  lands,  and  the  same 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Public  Lands. 


8th  April,  1S06, 

Committee  on  Public  Lands  dis- 
charged, and  referred  to  Committee 
of  the  whole  House,  on  the  bill  re- 
specting claims  to  lands  in  Indiana 
territory  and  State  of  Ohio. 

M.  Gregg. 


MEMORIAL  FROM  RANDOLPH  AND  ST.  CLAIR 

COUNTIES,  1805. 


(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  House  Files.) 

To  the  honorable  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  Assembled:  The  memorial  of  the  subscribers , in- 
habitants of  the  counties  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair , situated  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Mississippi , in  the  Indiana  Territory , respectfully 
shezveth, 

That  your  memorialists  have  at  various  periods,  since 
the  division  of  the  Territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  ad- 
dressed your  honorable  bodies,  praying  for  the  redress  of 
certain  heavy  grievances,  under  which  they  then  labored, 


484  SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

but  that,  from  the  policy  adopted  by  your  honorable  bod- 
ies, in  the  general  arrangements  for  the  governments  of 
these  territories  and  of  the  late  ceded  province  of  Louisi- 
ana, with  which  the  immediate  local  interests  of  your  me- 
morialists were  conceived  to  be  incompatible,  they  were 
unhappily  disappointed.  But  as  those  general  arrange- 
ments have  now  been  compleated,  and  the  policy  of  the 
general  government,  in  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the 
western  extremity  of  the  union,  are  evidently  to  the  minds 
of  your  memorialists,  they  confidently  hope  now  to  present 
to  your  consideration  the  adoption  of  a measure  which,  in 
their  opinions,  is  not  only  calculated  to  remove  effectually 
the  causes  of  their  still  existing  grievances,  but  is,  at  the 
same  time,  perfectly  consonant  to  the  general  views  of  gov- 
ernment, with  respect  to  the  political  system  to  be  adopted 
for  the  territories  lying  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
Under  this  impression,  and  from  a full  conviction,  that  your 
honorable  bodies  will  bestow  due  consideration  on  the  cir- 
cumstances of  your  memorialists,  they  respectfully  solicit 
your  attention,  while  they  suggest  the  expediency  of  a divi- 
sion of  the  Indiana  Territory,  and  the  erection,  into  a sepa- 
rate territorial  government,  of  that  extent  of  country  alloted, 
in  the  fifth  article  of  compact  between  the  original  states,  and 
the  people  and  states  in  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
north  west  of  the  river  Ohio,  and  contained  in  the  ordi- 
nance for  the  government  of  the  said  territory,  in  1787,  to 
form  the  western  state  ; and  to  consent,  in  common  with 
the  people  of  the  said  extent  of  country  so  allotted  to  form 
the  western  state,  that  the  sixth  article  of  compact,  con- 
tained in  the  said  ordinance,  may  be  so  modified  as  to  ad- 
mit of  slavery  within  the  limits  of  the  said  extent  of  coun- 
try, either  unconditional,  or  under  such  restrictions  or  lim- 
itations, as  your  honorable  bodies  may,  in  your  wisdom, 
deem  proper  to  impose  ; soliciting  also,  at  the  same  time, 
your  attention,  while  they  offer,  with  due  deference,  some 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


48s 

general  remarks,  on  the  merits  and  force  of  this  their  claim, 
for  the  attainment  of  these  much  wished  for  and  important 
objects,  on  which  their  future  prosperity  must  greatly  de- 
pend. 

A ruinous  inconvenience  attending  the  present  situation 
of  your  memorialists,  and  which  is  not  the  least  in  their  list, 
arises  from  the  great  distance  between  the  said  counties  of 
the  Territory  and  Vincennes,  the  seat  of  government,  which 
is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  through  a dreary  and 
inhospitable  wilderness,  uninhabited,  and  which  during  one 
part  of  the  year,  can  scarcely  afford  water  sufficient  to  sus- 
tain nature,  and  that  of  the  most  indifferent  quality,  besides 
presenting  other  hardships  equally  severe,  while  in  another 
it  is  in  part  under  water,  and  in  places  to  the  extent  of  some 
miles,  by  which  the  road  is  rendered  almost  impassable, 
and  the  traveller  is  not  only  subjected  to  the  greatest  diffi- 
culties, but  his  life  placed  in  the  most  imminent  danger. 
The  great  inconveniences,  independent  of  the  dangers  to 
which  our  citizens,  who  are  under  the  necessity  of  attending 
the  courts,  or  the  legislature,  or  whose  attendance  upon  any 
other  occasion  may  be  required  by  the  public  authorities, 
are  subjected,  and  the  consequences,  from  the  frequent 
removals  from  the  county  courts  to  the  general  court  of 
suits  for  the  most  inconsiderable  sums,  to  which  the  poor 
man  is  exposed  to  save  his  little  all,  are  too  obvious  here  to 
require  a detail. 

This  source  of  evil  naturally  leads  us  to  the  notice  of  an- 
other of  considerable  extent,  which  claims  the  most  serious 
attention,  and  which  must,  inevitably,  prove  a fatal  check 
to  the  growth  of  the  country  allotted  for  the  western  state, 
unless  timely  and  effective  measures  be  taken  to  check  it. 
From  the  obstacles  already  but  very  partially  described, 
and  from  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  face  of  the  country  lying 
between  these  settlements  and  the  Wabash,  a communica- 
tion between  them  and  the  settlements  east  of  that  river, 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


486 

cannot,  in  the  common  course  of  things,  for  centuries  yet  to 
come,  be  supported  with  the  least  benefit,  or  be  of  the  least 
moment  to  either  of  them.  This  tract  of  country  consists 
chiefly  of  extensive  prairies,  which  scarcely  afford  wood  or 
water,  which  utterly  precludes  the  possibility  of  settlement 
to  any  extent  worthy  of  notice.  From  the  existence  of  this 
serious  fact,  a bar  to  the  interchange  of  mutual  good  offices, 
and  of  private  interests  and  concerns,  is  raised  upon  a 
foundation  too  firm  to  be  shaken  or  surmounted.  If,  there- 
fore, so  great  a disconnexion  with  respect  to  the  inter- 
change of  'private  inter ests,  exists  between  the  citizens  of 
the  eastern  and  those  of  the  western  extremities  of  the 
territory,  what  prospects  can  be  afforded  of  an  union  be- 
tween them,  and  of  the  consequent  harmony  and  inter- 
change of  mutual  support  in  the  support  of  their  political 
interests  ? None.  In  the  place  of  that  union  will  arise 
discord,  virulence,  and  animosity,  and  the  scenes  of  con- 
fusion always  attendant  upon  the  contentions  of  remote 
districts,  possessing  different  political  interests,  and  the 
natural  consequence  resulting  therefrom,  the  destruction 
of  the  general  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity, without  any  solid  benefit  to  either  of  the  contending 
parties.  Already  have  the  seeds  of  discord  been  sown  ; 
already  have  they  presented  a prospect  of  rapid  growth ; 
but  your  memorialists  offer  up  their  earnest  and  sincere 
prayers  to  Heaven,  to  avert,  through  the  agency  of  the 
guardians  and  the  protectors  of  their  liberties  and  property, 
the  sad  and  much  dreaded  effects  of  the  threatened  com- 
motions. 

Another  great  subject  of  complaint  proceeds  from  our 
having  been  unwarrantably  precipitated  into  the  second 
grade  of  territorial  government,  to  the  proportional  ex- 
penses of  which  neither  your  memorialists,  nor  the  re- 
maining part  of  the  territory,  are  adequate  in  their  present 
circumstances.  Upon  an  application  made  to  the  execu- 


SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


487 

tive  for  that  purpose,  an  application  which  your  memori- 
alists have  reason  to  believe  was  confined  to  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Knox,  and  in  which  they 
themselves  had  no  manner  of  agency,  he  issued  his  proc- 
lamation and  writs  of  election,  with  a view  of  ascertaining 
the  voices  of  the  freeholders  in  the  several  counties,  upon 
this  important  question.  From  this  mode  of  procedure, 
the  sentiments  of  such  only  of  the  freeholders  as  actually 
attended  the  election  and  gave  in  their  suffrages  could  be 
ascertained.  The  elections  in  the  counties  of  Randolph 
and  St.  Clair  were  but  very  partially  attended  ; a majority, 
however,  of  those  freeholders  who  did  attend,  gave  their 
suffrages  against  the  measure  ; in  the  county  of  Knox 
very  generally,  and  the  votes  almost  unanimously  given 
in  the  affirmative  ; in  the  counties  of  Clark  and  Dearborn 
but  partially,  and  the  majority  of  votes  in  the  negative  ; 
from  the  county  of  Wayne,  which  contained  a principal 
portion  of  the  population  of  the  territory,  no  votes  were 
received,  the  writs  of  election  having  arrived  subsequently 
to  the  day  of  election.  From  this  mode  of  procedure,  in- 
competent to  the  object  contemplated,  from  this  slight  and 
partial  expression  of  the  public  sentiments  upon  this  im- 
portant subject,  the  executive  was  satisfied  that  there  was  a 
majority  of  the  freeholders  in  the  territory  in  favor  of  enter- 
ing into  the  second  grade  of  government,  and  took  the 
necessary  steps  for  the  organization  thereof  accordingly. 
Since  the  county  of  Wayne  has  been  struck  off,  the  ex- 
penses attendant  upon  this  grade,  must  be  the  more  sensi- 
bly felt,  from  so  considerable  a diminution  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  as  your  memorialists  have  not  the  least  prospect 
of  deriving  any  advantages  equivalent  to  this  burthen  thus 
forced  upon  them,  as  the  proportion  of  the  representation 
is  in  favor  of  the  eastern  counties,  thev  feel  themselves 
impelled  by  necessity  to  apply  for  a redress  of  this  griev- 


488  SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

ance,  in  preference  to  a silent  acquiescence  in  the  meas- 
ure. 

Your  memorialists  can  not  suffer  to  pass  unnoticed,  the 
practice  of  issuing  attachments  for  contempt  of  court, 
against  witnesses  for  non-attendance,  and  public  officers, 
upon  pretexts,  in  the  opinion  of  your  memorialists,  resting 
upon  the  slightest  grounds,  a vexatious  practice,  which 
has  a great  tendency  to  sour  the  minds  of  the  citizens  of 
this  remote  part  of  the  territory,  from  the  hardships,  as 
already  described,  to  which  they  must  be  exposed  from 
these  proceedings. 

Your  memorialists  beg  permission  here  to  suggest,  that 
by  adopting  the  policy  submitted  in  this  memorial,  to  your 
consideration,  the  views  of  the  general  government  would 
be  greatly  promoted,  and  the  rage  for  emigation  to  upper 
Louisiana  would  not  only  in  a great  measure  cease,  but 
have  a tendency  to  enhance  the  value  of  the  public  lands 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  render  their  sale  rapid, 
and  by  an  increase  of  its  population,  place  in  a flourishing 
situation  the  country  which  now  claims  the  patronage  and 
support  of  its  government. 

Your  memorialists,  therefore,  resting  satisfied  in  their 
firm  expectations,  that  your  honorable  body  will  take  into 
serious  consideration  their  distressed  situation,  and  at 
length  grant  them  the  desired  relief,  very  respectfully  sub- 
mit their  prayer,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  part  of  this 
their  memorial.  And  as  in  duty  bound  they  will  ever 
pray,  etc. 

V J.  Edgar,  ~ 

J.  Page, 

John  Hague, 

Parker  Grovenor, 

John  Gray, 

P.  Choslier,  ^ 

Louis  Charbiall, " 

Able  Denny, 


Wm.  Morrison, 

R.  Robinson,  ” 

Miles  Hotchkiss, 
John  Lock, 

Alexis  Goderis, 
Wm.  Dunn, 
Ephraim  Carpenter, 
Peter  Porae,  - 


Robert  Morrison, 
v'  Wm.  Wilson,  - 
John  Grovenor, 
v Wm.  ArundelJ*^^ 
Charles  Bergan,  **" 
Hugh  Carrigin,  — 
Reuben  White,  — 
John  Joseph, 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


489 


Wm.  Speakman,  ' 
Oliver  Reed,  ' 

Aaron  Bowen,^ 
Leroy  Ellioxt, 

Thos.  Wadley,-**  ' 

J.  M’Murtry,*^ 
Peter  Page, 

Joseph  Lestogos," 

T.  Chartran,-^ 

John  Dumoulier, 
John  Doyle, 

Adam  Wargrit, 
James  McGowan,' 
Julien  Le  Compt, 
Francois  Arnousse,^ 
Louise  Gervais, 

John  Lyle,^" 

M.  Lagrove, 

Dennis  Bergin, 
Gabriel  Marteau, 
Pierre  Martin,  junr., 
Charles  Germaine, 
Israel  Baley,*"' 

John  Halderman, 

La  Cuxier,  — 

John  Latuxiere,  ^ 
A.  Languirand, 
Nicholas  Turgeon, 
John  Hay,." 

Joan  Mennier, 

Jean  Palmier,—"" 

L.  Dulonchant, 

P.  Laflae,  — 

Joseph  Jame, 
Thomas  James, 

A.  Whyskey,  - ■ 1 
Louis  Pitette, 

J.  Campeau,  ***•' 

Jos.  Greignier, 

L.  Ladouceur, 

Louis  Trotier,  ~ 
Edward  Hebert, 
Joseph  Chenier,  ~ 
Julien  Nicole,  - 


Richard  Arcless, 
Martin  Brewer,  " 
Wm.  Haley,  ' 

George  Baker, 

^ohn  Reynolds,-^" 
Thomas  Cox, 

Wm.  H.  Bell, 

Julien  Mercier,  — ^ 
Wharham  Strong, 

Jean  Dehag, 

v'James  Edgar,  — 
Michael  Danes, - 
Perrey,* 

Lonval, 

Jean  N.  Godin, 
Nicholas  Boismenn, 
Abraham  Parker,  * 

T.  Cremour,  — 
Thomas  Primm, 

J.  C.  Bequete, 
Clement  Allery,-^ 
Louis  Debois, — 
Pierre  Guerin,' 

D.  Ensminger,r 
Antoine  Vaudray, 
Michael  Gamelin, 
Wm.  Cairns,  “ 
Francois  Le  Faivre, 
D.  Blondeau,  — " 
Joseph  Touchette,-'" 
J.  Lopage, 

J.  Chartran, 

M.  Holland," 

P.  Touke,  ~ 

Jacob  Weyand,  Jun’r, 
Pierre  Cowpagarte, 
Michael  Pitette,  - 
J.  Bt.  Saucier,  — 
Louis  Le  Brun,  — 
Louis  Le  Compte, 
Joseph  Trotier,  — 


Daniel  Bave, 

N.  Brewer;"" 

P.  Barbary,' 

G.  Belcher,- 
Cole  Beale, 

George  Franklin,  — 
John  Talbot,  — 
Louis  Gendron, 
Louis  Pinsonneau,  ' 
B.  Mercier, 

J.  Morrison,' 

Wm.  Lucas,  — "" 

T.  H.  Talbot, 

J.  M agate, 

J.  B.  Gendron, 
Charles  O’Neill,, 

E.  Pinsoneau, 

Thos.  Brady, — 

Pierre  Godin, 

Pierre  Martin,  senr., 
Hubert  Mercier, 
John  Junie,  — 
George  Cunningham 
J.  D.  Maroit,  ' 

Pascal  Letoms, 

John  Dupre,  — - 
' John  Hays,  - — * 

J.  Parrot,  "" 

Samuel  Best, 

Pierre  Laperche,'^' 

J.  C.  Allary,  — ■ 

O.  Gerandin, 

Elihu  Mather,' 
Daniel  Page,. 

A.  P.  Williams, 
Louis  Chalet,  ’ 
Louis  Pettetier, 

Basil  Beaulieu, 

J.  B.  Bequette, 
Clement  Trotier,  ' 
Pois  Trotier, 


Joseph  Poupart,  Sem, 
Joseph  Batteau,  ” 

J.  Le  Renan, ' — ' 


Joseph  Poupart,  Jun’r, 
P.  Descrete, 

Louis  Ronillard, 


490  li  1 SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


Joseph  Manege,' 

Joseph  Gonville, 

Reuben  Laney,  — 

James  Downing,' 

Uel  Whiteside, - 
Jos.  Reed, 

Charles  M’Nall, 

Samuel  Jacanay, 

Benjamin  Hoyerman,*'  loses  Short, 
Bailey  Boyles,  ^ 

Jesse  Wadly, 

David  Fultor, 


P.  Coline, 

Auguste  Trotier, 

-^.Samuel  Lecey, 

George  Blair, 

Joseph  Cornelius, 

Wm.  M’Roberts,  _ 

Jess  Morrison,'  . /A-  B.  Montray, * 

S.  Hubert  Lethrune,  Jun’r, Pierre  Liqe, 

Noah  Davis, 

George  Stanto,  Jun’r. 
W.  Roberts,  - 


Pois  Grondine, " 
Francis  Paget,"' 
William  Reed,  ' 
Daniel  Odell, 
James  Caldwell, 
John  Kidd, 


John  Whiteside- 
Charles  Pettit,  - 
Solomon  Allen,  " 
Jesse  Griggs, 

Wm.  R.  Cox-, 

C.  Davis,  Jun’r,  “ 
John  Laney,  — 
Moses  Oliver, 

David  Fulton, 
William  Phillips, 
Michel  Peltier, 

Jesse  Boyles,  — - 
S.  Thorn,  " 
Franklin  Jarvis,' 
Jonathan  Hill. 
Joseph  Chance, 

G.  McMutrey, 

Hugh  Walker, 
Moses  Short, 
Alexander  Scott, 
James  Bankson,"" 
Charles  Weakefield, 
Paul  Gaskell, 

John  Carruthers, 
Robert  Brasil, 
Thomas  Morrow," 
Robert  Whiteside, 
Wm.  Johorson, 
John  Goin, 

William  Miller, 
James  Gilbreath, 
Henry  Miller,  - 


v/Antoine  Girarding/ 
William  Atcheson,"^ 
Moses  B.  Reed, 
James  Lightell,  ^ 
Joseph  Anderson, 
John  Belderback,  """ 
J.  B.  Montray,  Jun’r,' 
Francis  Guthery, 

H.  Iduls, 


John  Liley,  — ^ 
Jonathan  Pettit," 
Wm.  Bell,<^' 
Antoine  Peltier," 
Joshua  Lacey, " 
Robert  Higins, 
D.  C.  Robinson, 


Louis  Petit  Calumiene,  James  Patterson, 


\/ 


V 


John  Fulton,' — 

T.  Ambereau,' 
John  Mordock, 
Joseph  Barrutel, 
Bailey  Boyles,  " 

* D.  Thorn,  * 

John  Hill,  - 
James  Meanern, 
William  Goin, 

W.  Biggs,' - 
James  Scott,  . 
Joseph  Scott, 
Noah  Daves, 
Charles  Bankson, 
Barneth  Bone, 
John  Crocker, 
Anthony  Thomas, 
James  Mansfiel, 
Wm.  Scott.-’ 
Edward  Ratliff, 
Samuel  Shook, 
John  Feeter, 
Daniel  St 

*/ 

P— ^ ‘ 


Thomas  Fulton, 

P.  Harnkon, 

John  Forgison, 
William  Crawford, 
W.  Kelty,  ■ — " 
Thomas  Newbury, 
Andrew  Bankson, 
Joseph  Cook, 

Peter  Michel, 

George  Biggs, 
William  Scott/  f;  ’ ' 
John  Scott, 

James  Hooper 
John  Walker,  — - 
James  Jordan, 
Thomas  Crocker, 
Valentine  Brasel, 
James  Bradbury, 
Samuel  Scott, 

Isaac  Grifen, 

John  Walker,  - 
Abraham  Eymam,  *' 
Thomas  Harrison,' 

T onrpnPA  *sK  aaI^ 


V" 

Ob.  Hooper,,-"' 
Silas  Bankson,*^ 
Joseph  Prewet,  ' 
Philemon  Higgins, 
John  Higgens, 

John  Forgorson, 
William  Ferguson, 
Jesse  Cain,"" 

Wm.  Porter,  " 
Henry  Cook, 

Joel  Whiteside, 
Jesse  Wadale,  — 

U' Davis  Whiteside,  - 
L George  Atcheson,  ■ 
John  Payne,  w 
Henry  O’Hara, 
Giles  Hull,  ' 
V'Henry  Jones, 


y^SL AVERY  PETITION#  AND  PAPERS. 


49 1 


Barnabas  Bone,- 
William  Prewet, 
Fields  Prewet, 
Enoch  Decker,  ■" 
Henry  Clark,—'- 
Richard  Rattan,- 
Isaac  Ferguson,# 
Moses  Tinnant,  ' 
Benj’n  Custland, 
John  Gillham,  «—■ 
George  Green,  — ■ 
Amos  Squirs,  - 
William  Adam,^” 
David  Waddell,  " 
Michel  Atchison' 
^John  O’Hara,-^- 
Daniel  Hull, 
i Samuel  Morrison, 


L- 


Aaron  West/”" 
Solomon  Prewet,  " 
Wm.  Bolin  Whiteside.' 
Samuel  Gildram,  — 
Aquilla  Dalahide.  *“““ 
Abraham  Pruit,  - 
James  Stockton,  “ 
James  Cornelius, 

James  Kirkpatrick,"'"" 
James  Gillham, 

Asher  Bagly,  — ^ 
Wm.  Whiteside, — 


Shadrach  Bond,  Sen.,*' 
Alexander  Waddell,  — 
Michael  Acheson, 

Jess  Kenor, . — ' 

Wm.  Alexander,' 

IP  Henry  O’Hara, 
Osm.Torton, 

Samuel  Lacey, 

Daniel  Hazeel, 

Natt  Scruggs. 

3 s* 


William  Alexander,  ^ j esse  Ranon,- 
Francis  Relhen,  - Abel  Lewis,—"' 

George  Renne  Ramp,  Vance  Lusk, 

William  Patton,  — Edward  Lacey, 

In  all,  about  350. 

I Do  Certify,  That  the  above  persons  subscribed  their 
names,  and  requested  me  to  have  them  annexed  to  the 
petition,  praying  a division  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  and 
the  admission  of  slaves  into  said  territory. 

By  me,  one  of  the  United  States  justices,  and  judge  of 
common  pleas,  in  said  county.  Robert  Reynolds. 

Endorsements . 


Petition  of  sundry  inhabitants  of 
Randolph  and  St.  Clair  in  the  Indi- 
ana Territory. 

18th  December,  1805, 

’•eferred  to  Mr.  Garnett, 

“ Morrow,  of  Ohio, 

“ Parke, 

“ Hamilton, 

“ Smith,  of  S.  C., 

“ Walton,  and 
“ Van  Cortlandt. 


Jg00 


492 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


14th  February,  1806,  , 

Report  made,  and  referred  to  Com’ee 
\vhole  House  on  Tuesday  next. 

(This  petition  is  also  published  in  State  Papers,  1805-1806.  A.  & G. 
Way,  Printers,  1809.) 


PETITION  OF  DEARBORN  COUNTY,  DEC.  18,  1805. 

(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  House  Files.) 

To  the  honourable  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 

Assembled. 

The  Humble  Petition  of  the  purchasers  of  lands  who  are 
settled  and  intend  a settlement  on  that  part  of  Indiana 
Territory  west  of  the  State  of  Ohio  and  East  of  Boundary 
Line  Runing  from  the  Mouth  of  Kentucky  River. 

May  it  Please  your  Honours. 

Your  Petitioners  humbly  Represent  that  they  are  at  a 
Distance  of  Nearly  Two  Hundred  Miles  from  the  Seat  of 
Government,  that  the  Intermediate  Space  is  a Wilderness 
occupy’d  only  by  Indians  and  likely  for  many  years  to 
Remain  Unoccupied  by  any  Other  persons — that  the  soil 
between  the  State  and  Boundary  line,  Viz.  the  Northern 
part  of  it  is  generally  good  land  and  will  Admit  of  a Nu- 
merous Population  and  that  [between]  the  Boundary  line 
and  the  Wabash  River  in  General  Very  Broken  and  there- 
fore Very  unlikely  to  afford  a communication  to  the  seat 
of  Government,  that  there  is  an  Imediate  Communication 
Between  this  part  of  the  territory  and  the  State  of  Ohio, 
and  the  Distance  from  the  Seat  of  Government  thereof 
only  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  Miles — -that  your  Peti- 
tioners humbly  Suggest  their  Earnest  desire  that  they 
Might  at  Rasf  for  the  Present  Enjoy  the  Benefit  of  the 
Governme  g aded  thereunto — and 

your  Petit  will  Ever  Pray. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


\ 


49  3 


Robert  Templeton, Sen.,  Robert  Templeton, 
John  Templeton,  Samuel  Logan, 

Solomon  Tiner,  Jacob  Hackleman, 

James  Cole,  William  Flood, 

Abner  Conner,  James  Russell, 

John  Ewing,  Benj.  McCarty, 

Jacob  Hackleman, Sen’r,  Richard  Conner, 


Peter  Fleming, 
William  Eads, 
James  Logan, 
John  Russell, 
John  Millholland, 
William  Major, 
Charles  Scot, 


Powel  Scot, 

Jno.  Endsley, 
Abraham  Endsley, 
John  Hanna, 

William  Botkin, 
Enoch  Russell, 

James  McCoy, 
William  Smith,  Jun’r 
George  Loveston, 
David  Stoops, 
William  Raney, 
Andrew  Endsley, 
Thomas  A.  Johnson, 
Joseph  Cox, 

Richard  Rue, 

James  Baley,  Jun., 


Andrew  Endsley,  Sen’r,  Wm.  Cunningham 


Thomas  Endsley, 
Wm.  Logan, 

John  McCutcheon, 
Joseph  Wason, 
John  Thomson, 
William  McCoy, 
Zachariah  Cahsey, 
William  Logan, 


Hugh  Endsley, 

Jacob  Lee, 

James  Henderson, 
Robert  Russell, 
Jonathan  Gillam, 
William  Smith, 
Solomon  Mainwaring, 
William  Vanmetre, 


Enoch  McCarty,  Sen’r,  Thomas  Williams, 
William  Ahnsworth,  Jeremiah  Johnson, 


John  Ewing, 
Willliam  Johnston, 
Patrick  Ohara, 
James  Eads, 


Wm.  Cunningham,  Jr  * 
George  Holman, 
Samuel  Hanna, 

James  Baley,  Sen’r, 


RichardManwaring, Sen’r,  Richard  Manwaringjun’r, 


Enoch  McCarty,  Jun’r,  Wiliam  Arnet, 


David  Ewing, 
James  Adeler, 
David  G.  Hanna, 
Robt.  Hanna,  Jun., 
William  Blunt, 
Patrick  McCarty, 
Asa  Ralph, 
William  Tiner, 
George  Deford, 
Robert  Hanna, 
Robt.  Speers. 


Joseph  Hannah, 

John  Adeler, 

John  Naileman, 
Robert  A.  Templeton, 
Daniel  Cunningham, 
John  Calwell, 

Hazen  Ralph, 

Mical  Hademan, 
William  Crane, 

Jno.  Gilliam, 


Wm.  Templeton, 
James  Adeler,  Sen’r, 
Isaac  Adeler, 

Moses  Martyr, 
Thomas  McCoy, 
William  Wilson, 
William  McCarty, 
Charles  Tilyea, 

John  Brown, 
Thimothy  Collins, 
John  Norres, 


Indorsements . 


Petition  of  purchasers  of  land,  set- 
tled and  intending  to  settle,  on  that 
part  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  west 
of  Ohio,  and  east  of  the  Boundary 
line  running  from  the  mouth  of  Ken- 
tucky river. 


494 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


18th  December,  1805, 
referred  to  Mr.  Garnett, 

Mr.  Morrow,  of  Ohio, 

Mr.  Parke, 

Mr.  Hamilton, 

Mr.  Smith  (of  So.  Carolina), 
Mr.  Walton,  and 
Mr.  Van  Cortlandt. 

14th  February,  1806, 

Report  made,  and  referred  to  Com’ee 
who:  House  on  Tuesday  next. 

Mr.  Gregg. 


REPORT  ON  THE  PETITIONS  OF  1805. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Misc.,  Vol.  I,  p.  450.) 

9th  Congress)  (1st  session 

Extension  of  the  Right  of  Suffrage,  And  the  Admis- 
sion of  Slavery,  For  a Limited  Time,  In  the  In- 
diana Territory,  And  the  Division  Thereof. 

Communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives , February  lj.,  1806. 

Mr.  Garnett,  from  the  committee  to  whom  were  referred 
the  report  of  a select  committee,  made  on  the  17th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1804,  on  a letter  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  presi- 
dent of  a convention  held  at  Vincennes,  in  the  Indiana 
Territory,  declaring  the  consent  of  the  people  of  the  said 
Territory,  to  a suspension  of  the  sixth  article  of  compact 
between  the  United  States,  and  the  said  people;  also,  on 
a memorial  and  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Ter- 
ritory ; also  on  the  petition  of  the  Legislative  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  said  Territory  ; together 
with  the  petition  of  certain  purchasers  of  land,  settled  and 
intending  to  settle  on  that  part  of  the  Indiana  Territory 
west  of  the  Ohio,  and  east  of  the  boundary  line  running 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river ; and  on  two  me- 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


495 

morials  from  the  inhabitants  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair — 
made  the  following  report : 

That  having  attentively  considered  the  facts  stated  in  the 
said  petition  and  memorials,  they  are  of  opinion  that  a 
qualified  suspension,  for  a limited  time,  of  the  sixth  article 
of  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the  people  and 
States  west  of  the  river  Ohio,  would  be  beneficial  to  the 
people  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  The  suspension  of  this 
article  is  an  object  almost  universally  desired  in  that  Ter- 
ritory. It  appears  to  your  committee  to  be  a question  en- 
tirely different  from  that  between  slavery  and  freedom,  in- 
asmuch as  it  would  merely  occasion  the  removal  of  per- 
sons, already  slaves,  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  an- 
other. The  good  effects  of  this  suspension,  in  the  present 
instance,  would  be  to  accelerate  the  population  of  that 
Territory,  hitherto  retarded  by  the  operation  of  that  article 
of  compact,  as  slaveholders  emigrating  into  the  Western 
country  might  then  indulge  any  preference  which  they 
might  feel  for  a settlement  in  the  Indiana  Territory,  in- 
stead of  seeking,  as  they  are  now  compelled  to  do,  settle- 
ments in  other  states  or  countries  permitting  the  introduc- 
tion of  slaves.  The  condition  of  the  slaves  themselves 
would  be  much  ameliorated  by  it,  it  is  evident,  from  ex- 
perience, that  the  more  they  are  separated  and  diffused, 
the  more  care  and  attention  are  bestowed  on  them  by  their 
masters,  each  proprietor  having  it  in  his  power  to  increase 
their  comforts  and  conveniences  in  proportion  to  the  small- 
ness of  their  numbers.  The  dangers,  too,  (if  any  are  to 
be  apprehended,)  from  too  large  a black  population  exist- 
ing in  any  one  section  of  country,  would  certainly  be  very 
much  diminished,  if  not  entirely  removed.  But  whether 
dangers  are  to  be  feared  from  this  source  or  not,  it  is  cer- 
tainly an  obvious  dictate  of  sound  policy  to  guard  against 
them  as  far  as  possible.  If  this  danger  does  exist,  or  there 
is  any  cause  to  apprehend  it,  and  our  Western  brethren 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


496 

are  not  only  willing  but  desirous  to  aid  us  in  taking  pre- 
cautions against  it,  would  it  not  be  wise  to  accept  their  as- 
sistance? We  should  benefit  ourselves,  without  injuring 
them,  as  their  population  must  always  so  far  exceed  any 
black  population  which  can  ever  exist  in  that  country  as  to 
render  the  idea  of  danger  from  that  source  chimerical. 

You  committee  consider  the  regulation,  contained  in  the 
ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  which  requires  a freehold  of  fifty  acres  of  land  as  a 
qualification  for  an  elector  of  the  General  Assembly,  as 
limiting  too  much  the  elective  franchise.  Some  restriction, 
however,  being  necessary,  your  committee  conceive  that  a 
residence  continued  long  enough  to  evince  a determination 
to  become  a permanent  inhabitant,  should  entitle  a person 
to  the  rights  of  suffrage.  This  probationary  period  need 
not  extend  beyond  twelvemonths. 

The  petition  of  certain  settlers  in  the  Indiana  Territory, 
praying  to  be  annexed  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  ought  not,  in 
the  opinion  of  your  committee  to  be  granted. 

It  appears  to  your  committee  that  the  division  of  the 
Indiana  Territory,  in  the  manner  directed  by  the  ordinance 
of  1787,  and  for  which  the  people  of  Randolph  and  St. 
Clair  have  petitioned  your  honorable  body,  would  be  inex- 
pedient at  this  time.  The  people  of  the  two  sections  have 
lately  entered  into  the,  second  grade  of  government,  the 
whole  expense  of  which  would  fall  on  the  people  of  one  sec- 
tion, if  a division  were  now  to  be  made.  This,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  your  committee  would  be  neither  politic  nor  just. 
But  although  a division  of  the  Territory  appears  improper 
at  this  time,  we  think  it  should  be  made  as  soon  as  the 
population  of  either  section  has  increased  so  far  as  to  entitle 
them  to  form  a State  Government.  The  petition  which 
prays  that  such  a Government  may  be  formed,  by  uniting 
the  two  sections  as  soon  as  their  inhabitants  shall  have 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


49  7 


augmented  so  far  as  to  authorize  it,  your  committee  con- 
ceive ought  not  to  be  granted.  A Territory,  when  once 
erected  into  a State,  cannot  be  divided  or  dismembered 
without  its  own  consent;  the  formation,  therefore,  of  two 
States  out  of  this  Territory,  originally  intended  by  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  could  not  constitutionally  be  effected, 
if  the  two  sections  were  once  permitted  to  form  one  State, 
without  the  consent  of  that  State,  however  necessary  the 
extent  and  population  of  that  Territory  might  render  such 
division. 

After  attentively  considering  the  various  objects  desired 
in  the  memorials  and  petitions  the  committee  respectfully 
submit  to  the  House  the  following  resolutions  : 

1.  Resolved , That  the  sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  of 
1787,  which  prohibits  slavery  within  the  Indiana  Territory 
be  suspended  for  ten  years,  so  as  to  permit  the  introduction 
of  slaves,  born  within  the  United  States,  from  any  of  the 
individual  States. 

2.  Resolved , That  every  white  freeman  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided  within  the  Territory 
twelve  'months,  and  within  the  county  in  which  he  claims  a 
vote,  six  months  immediately  preceding  the  election,  shall 
enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector  of  the  General  Assembly. 

3.  Resolved , That  the  petition  of  certain  settlers  in  the 
Indiana  Territory,  praying  to  be  annexed  to  the  State  of 
Ohio  ought  not  to  be  granted. 

4.  Resolved , That  it  is  inexpedient  at  this  time,  to  grant 
that  part  of  the  petition  of  the  people  of  Randolph  and  St. 
Clair  which  prays  for  a division  of  the  Indiana  Territory. 

5.  Resolved , That  so  much  of  the  petition  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana 
Territory  as  prays  that  the  two  sections  may  be  united 
into  one  State  Government  ought  not  to  be  granted. 


6 


498 


\ 


, \ v 

^ xK  v^l 

* V^'l 

MEMORIAL  OF  RANDOLPH  AND  ST.  CLAIR 
COUNTIES  JAN.  17-1806. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  House  Files.) 


To  the  Honourable , The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States , the  memorial  of  the  undersigned  persons,  being  a Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Illinois,  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  their  grievances  before  the  National  Legislature  respectfully 
sheiveth : 


That  this  country  is  composed  of  that  part  of  the  do- 
main of  the  United  States,  on  the  North  West  of  the  River 
Ohio,  which  by  the  ordinance  or  compact  of  1787  has 
been  designated  to  form  the  western  state  ; bounded  by  the 
Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  the  Wabash,  a north  line  drawn 
from  Vincennes  to  the  divisional  line  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada  ; and  by  this  line  to  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  and  the  Mississippi. 

That  for  the  purposes  of  a temporary  Government  it 
now  forms  a member  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  and  is  di- 
vided into  the  Counties  Randolph  and  St.  Clair. 

That  the  form,  and  extent  of  this  Government,  have  from 
certain  circumstances,  become  not  only  undesirable,  but 
productive  of  the  most  pernicious  effects.  And  your  memo- 
rialists most  humbly  solicit  your  attention  while  they  de- 
tail these  circumstances  ; while  they  suggest  the  propriety 
of  a division  of  this  Government,  and  the  erection  of  that 
part  of  it  above  described  into  a separate  Colony. 

Your  Memorialists  approach  your  Honourable  body  with 
the  more  confidence  on  this  subject,  since  they  flatter 
themselves  that  the  Nation  has  become  sensible  of  the 
situation  in  which  they  have  been — their  long  struggles — 
their  unprotected  state — their  patient  submission  to  incon- 
veniences— and  their  claims  to  be  now  heard. 

Among  the  many  evils  attendant  on  the  junction  of  the 
Illinois  with  the  Indiana  Territory,  it  is  one,  that  the  seat 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


499 


of  government  is  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
miles  from  the  Illinois  settlements — that  the  intermediate 
country  is  not  only  wholly  uninhabited,  but  that  being 
destitute  of  wood  it  will  for  a long  period  remain  so — 
dreary  beyond  description,  not  a single  human  dwelling 
is  to  be  found  in  this  whole  region.  Besides,  being  a 
country  low  and  level,  it  is  drown’d  and  of  course  impassa- 
ble in  wet  season  ; and  having  few  streams  or  fountains  it 
is  almost  so  in  dry — that  over  this  inhospitable  wild  a con- 
siderable portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Illinois  are 
obliged,  several  times  a year,  to  travel  as  officers,  as  ju- 
rors, as  witnesses,  as  suitors  in  the  National  Court  holden 
at  Vincennes — that  the  poor  man  is  often  deeply  oppressed 
by  the  appeal  of  a wealthy  antagonist  to  a court  so  distant, 
and  that  from  these  causes  an  hindrance  to  the  regular 
administration  of  justice  is  most  sensibly  felt. 

Your  Memorialists  would  further  suggest  that  there  is 
not,  and  cannot  be,  any  natural  connection  of  views  be- 
tween the  inhabitants  of  the  Wabash,  and  the  Mississippi ; 
and  that  the  landholders  of  the  former  country,  have  al- 
ready begun  to  feel,  or  to  fancy,  an  interest  in  preventing 
the  population  of  the  latter.  The  effects  of  these  feelings, 
on  our  society  and  our  government  are  obvious. 

But  these  evils  are  not  our  greatest.  It  need  not  be  told, 
at  this  day,  that  the  people  of  the  Illinois  have  been  pre- 
cipitated into  the  second  grade  of  government  contrary  to 
their  wishes.  It  need  not  be  told,  that  the  only  liberty 
they  find  is  the  liberty  of  submitting  to  the  will  of  a part  of 
the  territory,  more  populous,  which  feels  an  opposite  in- 
terest. 

Your  Memorialists  are  sorry  to  add  that  a resolution  has 
been  attempted  to  be  passed  at  the  last  session  of  our  leg- 
islature, for  continuing  the  union  between  the  middle  and 
the  western  state,  in  the  present  colonial  government,  till 
each  shall  have  a sufficient  population  to  form  an  independ- 


5°° 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


ent  one.  Of  this  measure  we  shall  say  nothing ; but  that 
its  effect  would  have  been  to  continue  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  Vincennes,  where  some  of  our  principal  characters 
have  ample  possessions — the  manner  in  which  it  has  been 
brought  about  is  seen  in  the  inclosed  depositions.* 

Altho  your  Memorialists  can  sufficiently  appreciate  the 
advantage  of  having  a Court  acting  with  Chancery  powers, 
yet  they  wish  to  see  these  powers  vested  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  territory.  It  was  with  pain  therefore  that  they 
saw  a law  passed  by  the  last  territorial  assembly  vesting 
these  powers  in  a single  judge  appointable  by  the  Govern- 
or. It  is  with  pain  they  are  now  told  that  it  is  in  proposi- 
tion, at  the  next  session,  to  create  a court  of  appeals. 
Where  will  this  end?  Is  it  in  contemplation  to  deprive  the 
present  Government  of  its  control  over  its  colony?  Shall 
we  next  see  a board  of  inspection  created  to  correct  the 
movements  of  the  executive? 

But  your  Memorialists  wish  to  drop  their  tale  of  griefs, 
and  to  take  a view  of  the  advantages  of  the  measure  pro- 
posed. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  erection  of  a Colonial  Gov- 
ernment on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  would  give  an  ex- 
ceedingly great  spring  to  the  population  of  the  country.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that  an  increase  of  population  in  this 
quarter  would  be  important  to  the  Union  at  large,  and  the 
establishment  pray’d  for  productive  of  tranquility  here.  The 
expense  of  such  an  establishment  is  surely  trifling  for  a na- 
tion so  great,  and  we  dare  to  assure  Congress  that  it  will 
be  infinitely  more  than  compensated  by  the  advantage  of 
an  acceleration  in  the  sale  of  its  lands. 

Your  Memorialists  would  further  beg  leave  to  solicit  as  a 
thing  which  would  be  promotive  of  the  prosperity  of  this 
Country,  the  permission  to  hold  slaves  in  it. 

rlnmpstic  servitude  we  do  not  advocate. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


501 

Yet  domestic  servitude  has  found  its  way  into  the  United 
States.  It  is  immovably  established  there.  When  an  evil 
becomes  irremediable  is  it  not  wisdom  to  convert  it,  if  pos- 
sible, to  some  use? 

However  unnecessary  this  state  of  servitude  may  be 
thought  in  the  eastern  part  of  this  territory,  no  man  has 
doubted  its  importance  here,  where  among  whites  health 
and  labour  are  almost  incompatible.  Here,  too,  a coun- 
try to  which  it  would  probably  bring  back  the  principal 
settlers  of  Upper  Louisiana,  since  they  have  been  driven 
from  home  by  the  fear  of  losing  their  servants. 

Your  memorialists  would  further  suggest,  that  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  lands  within  the  several  parallelograms 
which  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  June  20,  1788,  were  di- 
rected to  be  laid  off,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  with 
tracts  of  four  hundred  acres  each  of  the  several  heads  of 
families  in  the  Illinois,  have  been  covered  by  antient  French 
grants — that  many  of  the  persons  having  rights  founded 
on  this  land,  and  despairing  of  being  able  to  get  them  lo- 
cated, have  been  obliged  to  settle  on  the  public  lands  sub- 
sequent to  the  year  1791,  since  the  3d  of  March  of  which 
year  no  rights  could  be  obtained  by  settlement.  Your 
Memorialists  would  humbly  hope  that  persons  under  these 
circumstances  may  be  permitted  to  locate  these  rights,  on 
their  settlements  thus  formed,  or  that  certificates  of  the 
confirmation  of  these  rights  by  the  Board  of  Commission- 
ers now  sitting  in  the  Country  for  the  division  of  land 
claims,  may  be  received  in  payment  for  the  lands  of  the 
United  States  in  this  Country,  when  their  office  shall  be 
opened  for  the  sale  of  them. 

But  your  memorialists  will  not  dwell  on  the  importance 
of  those  measures  which  are  calculated  to  accelerate  the 
growth  of  this  country,  conscious  as  they  are  that  to  draw 
a strong  Cordon  of  regular  population  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  must  be  felt  to  be  a point  of  true 


5°2 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


National  policy,  since  it  would  be  able  by  its  weight  to 
control  and  to  dissipate  those  hordes  of  restless  adventurers 
who  by  penetrating  into  the  illimitable  regions  of  the  west, 
might  defy  the  national  arm  and  commit  the  national  peace. 

Your  Memorialists,  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

V Moses  Short, 

Ephraim  Belderback, 

Henry  Levenj, 

Perrey, 

J.  Messinger, 

Raphael  Drury, 

Etne  Pinsoneau, 


No.  5. 

Memorial  of  sundry  inhabitants  of 
the  counties  of  Randolph  and  St. 
Clair,  in  the  Indiana  Territory. 

17th  January,  1806, 

referred  to  the  committee  appointed 
the  19th  ultimo,  on  a letter  from 
William  Henry  Harrison,  Governor 
of  the  Indiana  Territory. 


E.  Barker, 

John  Everitt, 
Samuel  Kinney, 
J.  Edgar, 

John  Whiteside, 
William  Goinge, 
N.  Biggs. 


John  Beaird, 
William  Chalfin, 
M.  Jarrot,  ' 
James  Lemen,- 
William  Scott, 

R.  Robinson, 


1 


5 

5*  V 


Robert  Robinson, 

Clerk  of  Committee. 


Indorsements . 


13th  February,  1806, 

Select  com’ee  disch’d,  from  so  much 
as  relates  to  donation  and  pre-emp 
tion  rights  to  lands,  and  the  same 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Public  Lands.  Mr.  Garnett. 

Note. — There  are  two  other  copies  of  this  petition  on  file,  one  of 
which  was  probably  intended  for  the  Senate.  They  are  in  a separate 
wrapper  indorsed  “26th  March,  1806.  Referred  to  the  committee  of  the 
whole  House  to  whom  was  committed,  on  the  14th  ultimo,  the  report  of 
the  committee  on  the  letter  of  Wm.  H.  Harrison,  a memorial  of  the  legis- 
lative council  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana  Territory, 
and  the  several  petitions  of  sundry  inhabitants  of  said  territory.”  A 
copy  of  the  next  succeeding  paper  (minutes  of  the  convention)  accompa- 
nies them. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


5°3 


Minutes  of  the  Convention.  ts 

(Accompanying  the  preceding.) 

At  a meeting  of  the  Citizens  appointed  to  form  a Com- 
mittee from  the  Several  Townships  in  the  Counties  of  St. 
Clair  and  Randolph,  to  take  into  Consideration  and  Rep- 
resent to  the  General  Government  the  Grievances  of  these 
Counties,  the  25th  day  of  November,  1805. 

Present  in  Committee — 

James  Lemon,  John  Mesenger,  William  Scott,  John 
Whiteside,  Moses  Short,  John  Edgar,  E.  Backus,  John 
Beaird,  E.  Belderback,  John  Everts,  William  Chaffin, 
Ralph  Drury,  Henry  Levin,  William  Goings,  Samuel 
Kenney,  Robert  Robison,  Jean  F.  Perry,  N.  Jarrot, 
Etienne  Pansanno,  and  William  Biggs. 

On  Motion 

Unanimously  Resolved  that  Col.  John  Edgar  be  Chair- 
man and  Robert  Robison  Clerk  of  this  Committee. 

Resolved  that  a Memorial  be  prepared  stating  the  Griev- 
ances of  these  Counties.  That  it  be  signed  by  the  Mem- 
bers of  this  Committee,  and  transmitted  to  the  Senate  and 
house  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in  Session. 

Resolved  that  the  following  Subjects  of  Complaint  are 
those  which  Most  essentially  Concern  the  present  Happi- 
ness and  future  Growth  of  this  Country — That  a Division 
of  the  Indiana  Territory  agreeably  to  the  Ordinance  of 
1787  designating  the  tract  of  Country  intended  to  Consti- 
tute the  Western  State,  is,  to  the  Inhabitants  of  these 
Counties,  for  reasons  stated  in  the  Memorial  signed  by  the 
Committee,  an  event  much  to  be  desired  by  every  Citizen 
of  the  Illinois.  And  altho’  the  people  of  these  Counties 
prefer  a State  Government,  when  time  shall  have  Matured 
them  for  it,  for  they  too  desire  to  enjoy  the  priviledges  of 
freemen.  Yet  this  Committee  feel  fully  impressed  that 
while  Connected  with  the  people  of  the  Middle  District, 


5°4 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


whose  views  are  Distinctly  marked  by  the  very  nature  of 
the  country,  they  cannot  hope  to  derive  one  solid  Advan- 
tage in  the  Progress  from  a Territorial  to  a State  Govern- 
ment. 

And  whereas  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  for  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  Territory,  is  Respected  by  the  people  as  the 
Constitution  of  their  Country,  this  Committee  entertain  a 
hope  that  the  General  Government,  after  Guaranteeing  to 
the  people  the  privileges  in  that  Ordinance  Contained,  will 
not  pass  unnoticed  the  Violation  thereof  By  the  late  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  this  Territory  Authorizing  the  importa- 
tion of  Slaves,  and  involuntary  servitude  for  a term  of 
years. 

And  altho’  this  Committee  entertain  no  doubt  but  that 
the  Act  in  Question  will  render  service,  by  adding  a Spring 
to  the  Growth  of  this  Country,  They  express  the  disap- 
probation of  a people,  who  never  will  Consent  to  a Viola- 
tion of  that  ordinance.,  for  this  privilege  of  slavery.  When 
Congress  shall  deem  a Change  of  the  Ordinance  expedi- 
ent, they  will  Cheerfully  agree  to  the  measure. 

That  from  the  extensive  Prairies  and  barren  Lands  near 
the  Settlements  of  these  Counties,  Great  Injustice  would  be 
done  the  holders  of  Militia  and  Donation  Rights  were  they 
Compelled  to  locate  them  in  one  or  more  Parallelograms 
(or  bodies)  agreeably  to  former  Regulations  ; those  tracts 
of  land  whereon  such  Locations  might  be  made  in  justice 
to  the  owners  of  these  rights,  having  already  been  princi- 
pally covered  by  Ancient  Grants  and  the  Governor  having 
already  ordered  the  Location  of  a considerable  part  of  the 
Militia  and  some  of  the  Donation  Rights  in  these  Counties. 
This  Committee  therefore  expressing  the  wish  of  the  people, 
suggest  the  plan  of  Rendering  equal  Justice  to  the  Citizens 
by  laying  the  Unlocated  Rights  in  Sections,  or  half  sec- 
tions, as  other  lands  Originally  purchased  of  Congress. 

That  much  injury  will  be  done  the  Settlers  on  Public 


SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


5°5 


Lands,  who  have  made  improvements,  which  do  not  come 
with  [in]  the  Act  of  Congress  of  1791  (Respecting  im- 
provements) Unless  they  obtain  a pre-emption,  or  be  per- 
mitted to  Locate  Militia  or  Donation  Rights  on  their 
Possessions. 

Resolved , that  the  Memorial  now  before  this  Committee 
be  received,  signed,  and  transmitted,  as  in  the  second 
Resolution  above  directed,  And  that  Robert  Morrison 
esquire  be  appointed  Agent  by  this  Committee,  on  the 
part  of  these  Counties,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  lay  be- 
fore Congress  in  Session,  the  Papers  delivered  him  in 
Charge,  and  to  call  on  William  Biggs  and  Shadrach  Bond 
Esquires,  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  this  Territory, 
and  on  the  part  of  this  Committee  request  them  to  give 
their  Affidavits  Relative  to  the  Circumstances  Referred  to 
in  the  Memorial,  and  that  the  Affidavits  so  taken  be  trans- 
mitted to  Congress  with  the  said  Memorial. 

Resolved  that  this  Committee  do  adjourn,  to  Meet  again 
at  such  time  and  place  as  the  Agent  Appointed  shall  Re- 
quest (Giving  Notice)  and  that  he  be  Authorised  (If  found 
expedient)  to  cause  the  proceedings  of  this  Committee  to 
be  Published.  J.  Edgar,  Chairman. 

A true  Copy. 

Attest : 

Robert  Robinson,  Clerk  of  Committee. 

Indorsement . 

Accompanying  memorial  of  sundry- 
inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Ran- 
dolph and  St.  Clair,  presented  the 
17th  January,  1806. 


Census  Accompanying  Preceding. 

The  following  is  the  Number  of  Souls  as  nearly  as  can 
be  Ascertained  now  living  in  the  two  Counties  of  St.  Clair 
and  Randolph. 


50 6 s LA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

0 

The  Census  taken  the  first  day  of  April,  iSoi,  as 
may  be  seen  by  a reference  to  the  Secretary  of 

State’s  office  was 

The  inhabitants  of  Prairie  Duchaine  and  on  the 
Illinois  river  at  least  550  Souls  not  included  in 

the  Census 

The  Emigration  since  the  Year  1801  to  the  said  two 
Counties  is  at  least  one  third  of  the  Original 

number — say  750 

The  Settlements  on  the  Ohio  from  the  mouth  to  the 
Wabash  River  including  the  settlements  of 
Fort  Massac 


2361 


55° 

7So 


650 


Total 43 11 

Robert  Morrison  Commissioned  to  take 
the  Census  in  the  year  1801  in  the 
above  Counties. 


Indorsements . 

Accompanying  the  petition  of  sun- 
dry inhabitants  of  R"  lolph  and  St. 

Clair  counties  in  na  terri- 
tory, presented  th  March 

1806. 


Reed  and  rei 

to  whom  referred  to  Harris*. 

Fri.  Jan.  3 
1806 

Report  made. 

Direction  on  back . 

Cahokia  24  Deer. 

The  Honorable 

John  Randolph,  Esquire, 

Representative  in  Congress, 
Washington  City. 


SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


507 


LEGISLATIVE  RESOLUTIONS  OF  1807. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Misc.  Vol.  I,  p.  467) 

9th  Congress]  2d  session 

Slavery  in  the  Indiana  Territory. 

Communicated  to  the  Senate  January  21,  1807. 

Resolved,  unanimously,  by  the  Legislative  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  That 
a suspension  of  the  sixth  article  of  compact  between  the 
United  States,  and  the  Territories  and  States  northwest  of 
the  river  Ohio,  passed  the  13th  of  July,  1787,  for  the  term 
of  ten  years,  would  be  highly  advantageous  to  the  said 
Territory,  and  meet  the  approbation  of  at  least  nine-tenths 
of  the  good  citizens  of  the  same. 

Resolved , unanimously,  That  the  abstract  question  of 
liberty  and  slavery  is  not  considered  as  involved  in  a sus- 
pension of  the  said  article,  inasmuch,  as  the  number  of 
slaves  in  the  United  States  would  not  be  augmented  by 
the  measure. 

Resolved,  unanimously,  that  the  suspension  of  the  said 
article  would  be  equally  advantageous  to  the  Territory,  to 
the  States  from  whence  the  negroes  would  be  brought  and 
to  the  negroes  themselves. 

To  the  Territory  because  of  its  situation  with  regard  to 
the  other  States,  it  must  be  settled  by  emigrants  from  those 
in  which  slavery  is  tolerated,  or  for  many  years  remain  in 
its  present  situation,  its  citizens  deprived  of  the  greater 
part  of  their  political  rights,  and,  indeed,  of  all  those 
which  distinguish  the  American  from  the  citizens  and  sub- 
jects of  other  Governments. 

The  States  which  are  overburdened  with  negroes  would 
be  benefited  by  their  citizens  having  an  opportunity  of 
disposing  of  the  negroes  which  they  cannot  comfortably 
support,  or  of  removing  with  them  to  a country  abounding 
with  all  the  necessaries  of  life  ; and  the  negro  himself 


1508  SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

would  exchange  a scanty  pittance  of  the  coarsest  food  for 
a plentiful  and  nourishing  diet,  and  a situation  which 
admits  not  the  most  distant  prospect  of  emancipation,  for 
one  which  presents  no  considerable  obstacle  to  his  wishes. 

Resolved , unanimously,  That  the  citizens  of  this  part  of 
the  former  Northwestern  Territory  consider  themselves  as 
having  claims  upon  the  indulgence  of  Congress,  in  regard 
to  a suspension  of  the  said  article,  because  at  the  time  of 
the  adoption  of  the  ordinance  of  1787  slavery  was  tolerated, 
and  slaves  generally  possessed  by  the  citizens  then  inhab- 
iting the  country,  amounting  to  at  least  one-half  of  the 
present  population  of  Indiana,  and  because  the  said  ordi- 
nance was  passed  in  Congress  when  the  said  citizens  were 
not  represented  in  that  body,  without  their  being  consulted, 
and  without  their  knowledge  and  approbation. 

Resolved , unanimously,  That  from  the  situation,  soil, 
climate,  and  productions  of  the  territory,  it  is  not  believed 
that  the  number  of  slaves  would  ever  bear  such  propor- 
tion to  the  white  population,  as  to  endanger  the  internal 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country. 

Resolved , unanimously,  that  copies  of  these  resolutions 
be  delivered  to  the  Governor  of  this  Territory,  to  be  by 
him  forwarded  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  with  a request  that  they  will  lay  the  same  before 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  over  which  they 
respectively  preside. 

Resolved , unanimously,  That  a cop}^  of  these  resolutions 
be  delivered  to  the  delegate  to  Congress  from  this  Terri- 
tory, and  that  he  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  instructed  to  use 
his  best  endeavors  to  obtain  a suspension  of  the  said  article. 

Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

Pierre  Menard,  President  protein 
of  the  Legislative  Council. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  509 

Sir  : 

Agreeably  to  the  request  of  the  Legislative  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  this  Territory,  I have  the 
honor  to  enclose  herewith  certain  resolutions  by  them 
adopted,  and  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  lay  them  before  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States. 

I have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect  and  esteem, 
sir,  your  very  humble  servant, 

William  Henry  Harrison. 

The  Hon.  the  Speaker  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 


House  Report  on  the  Preceding. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Misc.  Vol.  I,  p.  477.) 

9th  Congress]  [2nd  session 

Slavery  in  the  Indiana  Territory. 

Communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  12th  of  Feb.,  1807. 

Mr.  Parke,  from  the  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the 
letter  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  Governor  of  the  Indiana 
Territory,  inclosing  certain  resolutions  of  the  Legislative 
Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  said  Territory, 
made  the  following  report : 

That  the  resolutions  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  relate  to  a 
suspension,  for  the  term  of  ten  years,  of  the  sixth  article  of 
compact  between  the  United  States  and  the  Territories  and 
States  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  passed  the  13th  of  July, 
1787.  That  article  declares  : “There  shall  be  neither  slavery 
nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  said  Territory. ” 

The  suspension  of  the  said  article  would  operate  an  im- 
mediate and  essential  benefit  to  the  Territory,  as  emigration 
to  it  will  be  inconsiderable  for  many  years,  except  from 
those  States  where  slavery  is  tolerated  ; and  although  it  is 
not  considered  expedient  to  force  the  population  of  the 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


510 

Territory,  yet  it  is  desirable  to  connect  its  scattered  settle- 
ments, and,  in  regard  to  political  rights  to  place  it  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  different  States.  From  the  interior 
situation  of  the  Territory,  it  is  not  believed  that  slaves  would 
ever  become  so  numerous  as  to  endanger  the  internal  peace 
or  future  prosperity  of  the  country.  The  current  of  emi- 
gration flowing  to  the  western  county,  the  Territories  ought 
all  to  be  opened  to  their  introduction.  The  abstract  ques- 
tion of  liberty  and  slavery  is  not  involved  in  the  proposed 
measure,  as  slavery  now  exists  to  a considerable  extent  in 
different  parts  of  the  Union  ; it  would  not  augment  the  num- 
ber of  slaves,  but  merely  authorize  the  removal  to  Indiana 
of  such  as  are  held  in  bondage  in  the  United  States.  If 
slavery  is  an  evil,  means  ought  to  be  devised  to  render  it 
least  dangerous  to  the  community,  and  by  which  the  hap- 
less situation  of  the  slaves  would  be  ameliorated  ; and  to 
accomplish  these  objects,  no  measure  would  be  so  effectual 
as  the  one  proposed.  The  committee,  therefore,  respect- 
fully submit  to  the  House  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  suspend,  from  and  after 
the  1st  day  of  January,  1808,  the  sixth  article  of  compact 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Territories  and  States 
northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  passed  the  13th  day  of  July, 
1787,  for  the  term  of  ten  years. 


Petition  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties, 

February  20,  1807. 

(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  House  Files.) 

To  the  Honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States , the  memorial  of  the  ujidersigned,  a committee  for  this  purpose 
by  the  people  of  the  Illinois  Country , humbly  Sheweth: 

That  at  the  last  session  of  your  Honorable  body,  your 
Memorialists  presented  a petition  praying  for  the  division 


SLA  VER  Y PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  5 1 1 

of  the  Indiana  Territory,  and  the  erection  of  a colonial 
Government  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Your  Memo- 
rialists will  not  repeat  the  reasons  then  urged  in  support 
of  this  request ; Since  it  would  be  merely  the  repetition  of 
a tale  of  sufferings. 

Three  circumstances  have  impelled  your  Memorialists 
again  to  appeal  to  the  humanity  of  Congress — 

They  are  now  happy  to  have  it  in  their  power  to  peti- 
tion for  a Government,  cheap,  active  and  liberal — a Gov- 
ernment combining  the  principles  of  freedom  and  subordi- 
nation ; and  which  has  received  so  strong  a proof  of  the 
national  approbation.  Your  memorialists  refer  to  the  pro- 
posed Government  for  the  Michigan  Territory — one  prob- 
ably as  free  as  the  capacity  of  this  country  can  support. 

Your  memorialists  have  the  more  confidence  in  this 
request  when  they  consider  their  increased  population, 
which  will  be  shown  by  the  documents  accompanying  this 
memorial.*  Is  it  presumption  in  the  inhabitants  of  the 
western  division,  with  a population  of  five  thousand  souls, 
and  Separated  from  the  Seat  of  their  Government  by  an 
almost  impassible  wilderness  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles;  to  hope  for  an  establishment  so  little  expensive? 

But  when  your  Memorialists  contemplate  the  probable 
movements  which  may  arise  out  of  an  European  peace, 
now  apparently  about  to  take  place,  they  cannot  but  feel 
the  importance  of  union,  of  energy,  of  population  on  this 
shore  of  the  Mississippi — they  cannot  but  shudder  at  the 
horrors  which  may  arise  from  a disaffection  in  the  West: — 
and  can  it  be  much  to  the  American  people  to  grant  to 
their  brethren  in  this  distant  region  a government  to 
which,  in  an  evil  hour,  they  can  speedily  fly  for  direction 
and  support? 

Your  Memorialists  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray,  &c. 
George  Atchison,  Chairman. 


*Note — Not  on  file. 


512 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


J.  Edgar, 

Ab’m  Irnan, 
Ephraim  Belderback, 
John  Everitt, 

Perrey, 

Will  Whiteside, 


James  Lemen, 
William  Scott, 
Moses  Short, 

R.  Robinson, 

Et’ne  Pinsoneau, 
Raphael  Drury. 

Indorsement. 


John  Messinger, 
Solomon  Stoucky, 
John  Whiteside, 
John  Beaird, 

N.  Jarrot, 


Petition  of  Sundrjr  Inhabitants  of 
the  Indiana  Territory. 


20th  February,  1807, 
Referred  to  Mr.  Parke, 

“ Varnum, 

“ Alston, 

“ Kelly, 

“ Sanford, 

“ Jere  Morrow  and 
“ Philip  R.  Thompson 

26th  February,  1807, 

Report  made,  considered  and  agreed 
to. 


Petition  of  Randolph  County,  February  20,  1807, 
Counter  to  the  Preceding  Petition. 

(Copy  of  Original  Paper.  House  Files.) 

To  the  Honorable  the  Congress  of  the  United  States , the  petition  of 
sundry  the  Inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Randolph , on  the  Mississippi , 
in  the  Indiana  Territory , Humbly  Shezveth: 

That  your  petitioners  have  observed  with  sincere  regrets 
the  machinations  of  certain  men  in  the  Mississippi  settle- 
ments to  effect  a division  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  A 
sham  convention  has  lately  sat  in  the  county,  petitioning 
your  honorable  body  to  that  purpose.  The  presumptious 
proceedings  of  this  body  turns  the  name  convention  into 
contempt  and  ridicule.  It  would  seem  from  the  assump- 
tions of  these  pretended  conventionalists  that  they  were  the 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


5J3 


regularly  elected  Delegates  of  the  respective  Townships, 
to  represent  the  two  counties  on  the  Mississippi  in  conven- 
tion. No  election  was  holden  in  Mitchi  Township,  nor 
that  of  Priara  du  Rocher — in  Kaskaskia  there  was  a sham 
election  of  a few  persons,  it  is  believed  the  Deputies  chosen 
comprised  one  half  of  those  present  & indeed  of  those  who 
had  any  notice  of  it.  But  where  the  people  were  ignorant 
of  the  measure  or  refused  a concurrence,  these  Gentlemen 
assumed  whatever  was  necessary  to  make  themselves  at 
least  the  nominal  Representatives  of  the  respective  Town- 
ships. So  far  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  Representatives  or 
conventionalists. 

But  the  measure  itself  is  viewed  by  your  Petitioners  as 
calculated  to  produce  the  most  injurious  effects.  There  is 
no  reason  to  believe  that  your  Honorable  Body  will  grant 
the  form  of  Government  recommended  by  this  Convention, 
& even  were  it  conceded  to  the  people,  we  conceive  they 
would  not  be  in  so  eligible  a situation  as  they  now  are. 
The  second  grade  of  government  has  lately  been  adopted  ; 
a Representative  government  has  been  secured  to  the 
country ; no  taxes  have  yet  been  paid  by  the  Mississippi 
settlements,  & from  the  measures  of  the  last  session  of  the 
Legislature  your  petitioners  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  a system  of  prudence  and  economy  will  be  pursued 
by  that  body.  As  yet  there  has  been  no  cause  to  com- 
plain. No  reason  presents  itself  to  the  minds  of  your 
petitioners  which  renders  the  project  at  least  plausible. 
Your  petitioners  therefore  pray  that  a Division  of  the  Ter- 
ritory may  not  take  place. 


Jac.  Gilbreath, 

A.  Lanawoer, 

Ante  X Lachapelle, 

Bapte  X Gendron, 
Bapte-GermainXChamberland,  Jnr. 
Joseph  X Deregnay, 

Charles  X Dany,  alias  Boutine, 


Henry  Connor, 

Hipolite  Menard, 

Gabriel  X Lafleur  alias  Gagent, 
Joseph  X Chamberland, 

Henry  X Bienvenue, 

Ante.  X Casson  alias  Prevost, 
Nicholas  X Eneaux  alias  Canada, 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


5'4 


Fran.  Bapte  X Caloute,  Joseph  X Longreal, 

Louis  GermainXChamberland,Senr,  Pierre  Marassi, 
Louis  GermainXChamberland  Jnr.,  Francois  Menard, 


Louis  X Buatte, 

Abel  Dewey, 

Bapte.  X Danis,  Jr., 

"^Samuel  Cochran, 

L.  Lachapelle, 

Joseph  X Lamare, 

\ Ante.  X Labrierre, 

"mlapte.  Barbau 

Clement  Drury, 

Antoine  Blay, 

G.  Delochy, 

Benifeance  Pana  alias  Godair, 
Ambrose  Valeur, 

E.  Carpenter, 

Francois  X Tanqui, 

Francois  X Tibeau, 

Jean  Bapte  X Godair, 

Alexis  Doza, 

Gerome  Danis,  Senr, 

Blaise  Barute, 

Antoine  Poere, 

Nicholas  Buatte, 

Ante.  Danis,  Jn’or, 

Jean  Bapte. Lagrandeur  alias  Guitaro, 

Louis  Pillette  alias  Lasoude, 

Jph.  Krey, 

Ante.  Peltier  alias  Autoya, 

Pierre  Le  Conte, 

Andre  Barbar, 

Louis  Decochy, 

Jrm.  Toiton, 

Charles  X Blay, 

Joseph  X Blay, 

Antoine  X Cotinaux, 

Etienne  X Langlois,  v Francois  Langlois, 

Auguste  X Allard  alias  Parier,  ^^Amtoinne  X Louvierre, 


Jean  Bapte  X Perrin, 

Pierre  X Godair  alias  Pana, 

Isidore  X Godair  alias  Pana, 

Louis  X Perio  alias  Verboncoeur, 

Antoine  X Blay, 

Charles  X Tibaux, 

Joseph  X Lavoie,  Sen’r, 

Isidore  Godair,  Jun’r, 

G.  Decochy  fils,  Joseph  Peltier, 

Jean  Bapte.  X Duelos,  Wm.  Alexander, 

Nicolas  X Olivier  alias  Mahin,  Jesse  Maner, 

Robert  Hays,  Louis  X Archambeau, 


Richard  Hazel, 

Elijah  Estes, 

Daniel  Hazel, 

Jas.  Ford, 

Jno.  Harrison, 

Abijah  Leavitt, 

Wm.  Boon, 

Rt>bt.  Patton, 

James  Harrison, 

John  Hughs, 

' George  Fisher, 

John  Hague, 

* J.  Finnejr, 

Charles  McNabb, 

Michel  X Bienvenu, 

Diego  X Rodrigue, 

Michel  X Danis,  jun’r, 

John  Cochran, 

Chs.  Brown, 

John  Right, 

Wm.  Appellate, 

William  Shaw, 

Johnston  CambcJ 

John  Carso" 

Jaunay, 

James  Smith, 

S^cion  Bunch, 

Henry  Kiefhart. 

SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


515 


Indorsement. 

Petition  of 

sundry  inhabitants  of  the  county  of 

Randolph,  in  the  Indiana  territory. 

20th  February,  1807. 

Referred  to  Mr.  Parke, 

“ Varnum, 

“ Alston, 

“ Kelly, 

“ Sanford, 

“ Jere  Morrow  and 
“ P.  R.  Thompson. 

26th  February,  1807. 

Report  made,  Considered 
and  agreed  to 


LEGISLATIVE  PETITION  OF  1807. 

(Am.  State  Papers.  Misc.  Vol.  I,  p.  484.) 

In  the  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Indiana 
Territory : 

Great  solicitude  has  been  evinced  by  the  citizens  of  this 
Territory  on  the  subject  of  the  introduction  of  slaves.  In 
the  year  1802  a special  convention  of  delegates  from  the 
respective  counties  petitioned  Congress  for  a suspension 
of  the  sixth  article  of  compact,  contained  in  the  ordinance 
of  1787.  In  1805  a majority  of  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  and  House  of  Representatives  remonstrated 
with  Congress  on  the  subject.  In  1806  the  Legislative 
Council  and  House  of  Representatives  passed  sundry  res- 
olutions, which  were  laid  before  Congress,  declaratory  of 
theii:  sense  of  the  propriety  of  admitting  slaves  ; and,  as 
the  citizens  of  the  Territory  decidedly  approve  of  the  tol- 
eration of  slavery,  the  Legislative  Council  and  House  of 
Representatives  consider  it  incumbent  on  them  briefly  to 
state,  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  their  constituents,  the 


5 1 6 SLA  VER  Y PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

reasons  which  have  influenced  them  in  favor  of  the  meas- 
ure. 

In  the  first  place,  candor  induces  us  to  premise  that,  in 
regard  to  the  right  of  holding  slaves,  a variety  in  opinion 
exists  ; whilst  some  consider  it  decent  and  just  to  acquire 
them  either  by  purchase  or  conquest,  others  consider  their 
possession,  by  either  tenure,  as  a crime  of  the  deepest 
stain  ; that  it  is  repugnant  to  every  principle  of  natural  jus- 
tice, of  political  rights,  and  to  every  sentiment  of  humani- 
ty. Without  entering  into  the  merits  of  this  controversy, 
it  need  only  be  remarked,  that  the  proposition  to  introduce 
slavery  into  the  Territory  is  not  embraced  by  them.  It  is 
not  a question  of  liberty  or  slavery.  Slavery  now  exists 
in  the  United  States,  and  in  this  Territory.  It  was  the 
crime  of  England  and  their  misfortune  ; and  it  now  be- 
comes a question,  merely  of  policy  in  what  way  the  slaves 
are  to  be  disposed  of,  that  they  may  be  least  dangerous  to 
the  community,  most  useful  to  their  proprietors,  and  by 
which  their  situation  may  be  ameliorated. 

As  the  law  of  Congress,  prohibiting  the  further  importa- 
tion of  slaves  into  the  United  States,  takes  effect  the  ist 
of  January  next,  it  is  evident  that  the  proposed  toleration 
will  not  increase  the  number  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  believed  (and  has  not  experience  verified  the  fact?) 
that  such  is  the  number  of  slaves  in  the  Southern  States, 
that  the  safety  of  individuals,  as  well  as  the  political  insti- 
tutions of  those  States,  are  exposed  to  no  small  hazard. 
However  desirable  it  may  be  to  emancipate  them,  it  can 
never  be  done  until  they  are  dispersed  ; it  would  be  equally 
impolitic  for  the  whites  as  for  the  slaves.  The  great  cur- 
rent of  emigration  is  constantly  flowing  from  the  Eastern 
and  Southern  States  to  the  Western  States  and  Territo- 
ries. The  increase  of  population  in  the  western  country 
for  the  last  twenty  years  may  afford  some  idea  of  its  prob- 
able amount  in  the  course  of  the  present  century ; it  must 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


S17 

be  immense  ; and  were  all  the  territories  opened  to  the  in- 
troduction of  slaves,  a large  proportion  of  them  would 
naturally  be  drawn  from  the  Southern  States. 

From  a reference  to  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see at  the  time  of  the  last  United  States  census,  it  is  not 
believed  that  the  number  of  slaves  would  ever  become  so 
great  as  to  endanger  either  the  internal  peace  or  future 
prosperity  of  the  Territory.  It  is  also  rendered  improbable 
from  the  interior  situation  of  the  Territory,  its  climate  and 
productions. 

Slavery  is  tolerated  in  the  Territories  of  Orleans,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Louisiana;  why  should  this  Territory  be 
excepted. 

It  is  believed  that  slaves,  possessed  in  small  numbers  by 
farmers,  are  better  fed  and  better  clothed  than  when  they 
are  crowded  together  in  quarters  by  hundreds  ; their  situa- 
tion in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  the  back  parts  of  Mary- 
land andVirginia  verify  this  belief. 

Resolved , By  the  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  Indiana  Territory,  That  it  is  expedient 
to  suspend  for  a given  number  of  years  the  sixth  article  of 
compact,  contained  in  the  ordinance  for  the  government  of 
the  Northwestern  Territory,  passed  the  13th  day  of  July, 
in  the  year  1787. 

Resolved , That  a copy  of  the  foregoing  be  forwarded  to 
the  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  with  a request  that 
he  will  lay  the  same  before  the  Senate  ; and  that  a copy  be 
forwarded  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
with  a request  that  he  will  lay  the  same  before  the  said 
House  of  Represetatives  ; and  that  the  Governor  of  this 
Territory  be  requested  to  forward  the  same,  as  aforesaid. 

Jesse  B.  Thomas, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Samuel  Gwathemy, 

President  pro  tern,  of  the  Legislative  Council. 

Passed  the  Legislative  Council,  September  19,  1807. 

Attest:  H.  Hurst,  Chief  Clerk. 


5*8 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


Counter  Petition  of  Clark  County. 

(Accompanying  the  above.) 

At  a numerous  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Clark  county 
. in  Springville,  (agreeably  to  notice  previously  given,)  on 
Saturday,  the  loth  day  of  October,  1807,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  into  consideration  the  resolutions  passed  at  the 
last  session  of  the  Legislature  of  the  Indiana  Territory, 
praying  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  suspend  for 
a certain  time  the  sixth  article  of  compact,  contained  in 
the  ordinance,  Mr.  John  Beggs  was  chosen  chairman,  and 
Davis  Floyd,  secretary.  On  motion, 

Ordered , That  a committee  of  five  suitable  persons  be 
appointed  to  draught  and  report  to  this  meeting,  a memo- 
rial to  Congress,  in  opposition  to  the  resolutions  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  Indiana  Territory  on  the  subject  of  slav- 
ery in  this  Territory,  by  the  suspension  of  the  sixth  article 
of  compact  contained  in  the  ordinance. 

And  the  said  committee  was  appointed  of  Messrs.  Abra- 
ham Little,  John  Owens,  Charles  Beggs,  Robert  Robert- 
son, and  James  Beggs. 

Mr.  Little  from  the  aforesaid  committee,  reported  a 
memorial,  pursuant  to  the  aforesaid  order,  in  the  words 
and  figures  following,  viz : 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled : 

The  memorial  of  the  citizens  of  Clark  county,  humbly 
showeth  that  great  anxiety  has  been,  and  still  is,  evinced  by 
some  of  the  citizens  of  this  Territory,  on  the  subject  of  the 
introduction  of  slavery  into  the  same  ; but  in  no  case  has 
the  voice  of  the  citizens  been  unanimous  In  the  year 
1802,  at  a special  convention  of  delegates  from  the  respec- 
tive counties,  a petition  was  forwarded  to  Congress  to  re- 
peal the  sixth  article  of  compact  contained  in  the  ordinance  ; 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS.  519 

but  the  representation  of  all  that  part  of  the  Territory 
east  of  Vincennes  were  present,  and  were  decidedly  op- 
posed to  that  part  of  the  petition. 

In  the  year  1805,  the  subject  was  again  taken  up  and 
discussed  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  a majority  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  voted  against  said  memorial  on 
the  aforesaid  subject,  and,  consequently  the  memorial  was 
rejected,  as  the  journals  of  that  house  doth  sufficiently 
evince  ; but  a number  of  citizens  thought  proper  to  sign 
the  same,  and,  amongst  the  rest,  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  the  President  of  the  Council, 
(though  the  President  of  the  Council  denies  ever  having 
signed  the  same;)  and,  by  some  legislative  legerdemain 
it  found  its  way  into  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  as 
the  legislative  act  of  the  Territory.  In  the  present  year 
of  1807,  the  subject  was  again  taken  up  by  the  Legislature 
of  this  Territory,  and  a majority  of  both  Houses  passed 
certain  resolutions  (in  the  proportion  of  two  to  one)  for 
the  purpose  of  suspending  the  sixth  article  of  compact  con- 
tained in  the  ordinance,  which  we  presume  are  before  your 
honorable  body.  But  let  it  be  understood  that  in  the  Leg- 
islative Council  there  were  only  three  members  present, 
who,  for  certain  reasons,  positively  refused  to  sign  the  said 
resolutions  ; and  they  were  reduced  to  the  last  subterfuge 
of  prevailing  on  the  president  to  leave  his  seat,  and  one  of 
the  other  members  to  take  it  as  president  pro  tem .,  for  the 
purpose  of  signing  the  said  resolutions.  Whether  this  be 
right  or  wrong,  judge  ye.  And  although  it  is  contended 
by  some,  that,  at  this  day,  there  is  a great  majority  in 
favor  of  slavery,  whilst  the  opposite  opinion  is  held  by 
others,  the  fact  is  certainly  doubtful.  But  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  vast  emigration  into  this  Territory, 
and  of  citizens  too,  decidedly  opposed  to  the  measure,  we 
feel  satisfied  that,  at  all  events,  Congress  will  suspend  any 
legislative  act  on  this  subject,  until  we  shall,  by  the  con- 


52° 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


stitution,  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  and  have  a right  to 
adopt  such  a constitution,  in  this  respect,  as  may  comport 
with  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  citizens. 

As  to  the  propriety  of  holding  those  in  slavery  whom  it 
hath  pleased  the  Divine  Creator  to  create  free,  seems  to 
us  to  be  repugnant  to  the  inestimable  principles  of  a re- 
publican Government.  Although  some  of  the  States  have, 
and  do  hold  slaves,  yet  it  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion, 
even  in  those  States,  that  they  are  an  evil  from  which  they 
cannot  extricate  themselves.  As  to  the  interest  of  the 
Territory,  a variety  of  opinions  exist ; but  suffer  your  me- 
morialists to  state  that  it  is  a fact  that  a great  number  of 
citizens,  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  are  prepar- 
ing and  many  have  actually  emigrated  to  this  Territory, 
to  get  free  from  a government  which  does  tolerate 
slavery.  The  toleration  of  slavery  is  either  right  or 
wrong;  and  if  Congress  should  think,  with  us,  that  it  is 
wrong,  that  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  principles  upon 
which  our  future  constitution  is  to  be  formed,  your  memo- 
rialists will  rest  satisfied  that  at  least  this  subject  will  not 
be  by  them  taken  up  until  the  constitutional  number  of  the 
citizens  of  this  Territory  shall  assume  that  right.  It  is 
considered  useless  for  your  memorialists  to  recapitulate 
the  many  reasons  and  objections  which  might  be  ad* 
vanced,  relying  that  this  subject  is  fully  and  fairly  under- 
stood by  your  honorable  body  as  it  relates  to  the  natural 
right,  policy  and  prosperity  of  a free  and  independent 
nation.  On  motion, 

Resolved , That  the  chairman  be  requested  to  forward 
duplicate  copies  of  these  proceedings,  (signed  by  the  said 
chairman,  and  countersigned  by  the  secretary,)  one  to  the 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States  or  President  of  the 
Senate  -pro  tem .,  and  one  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

By  order  of  the  meeting, 

John  Beggs,  Chairman. 

Attest:  Davis  Floyd,  Secretary. 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


521 


Report  on  the  Preceding. 

(Am.  State  Papers,  Misc.,  Vol.  1,  p.  484.) 

10th. Congress]  [1st  session 

* Slavery  in  the  Indiana  Territory. 

Communicated  to  the  Senate,  November  13,  1807. 

Mr.  Franklin,  from  the  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  representation  and  resolution  of  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana  Territory, 
bearing  date  the  13th  of  July,  1807  ; and,  also,  the  remon- 
strance of  the  citizens  of  Clark  county,  of  the  Territory 
aforesaid,  reported : 

The  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Representatives, 
in  their  resolutions,  express  their  sense  of  the  propriety  of 
introducing  slavery  into  their  Territory,  and  solicit  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  to  suspend,  for  a given  num- 
ber of  years,  the  sixth  article  of  compact,  in  the  ordinance 
for  the  government  of  the  Territory,  northwest  of  the  river 
Ohio,  passed  the  13th  day  of  July,  1787.  That  article  de- 
clares : “There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary 
servitude  in  the  said  Territory.’’ 

The  citizens  of  Clark  county,  in  their  remonstrance,  ex- 
press their  sense  of  the  impropriety  of  the  measure,  and 
solicit  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  not  to  act  on  the 
subject  so  as  to  permit  the  introduction  of  slaves  into  the 
Territory  ; at  l^east  until  their  population  shall  entitle  them 
to  form  a constitution  and  State  Government. 

Your  committee,  after  duly  considering  the  matter,  re- 
spectfully submit  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved , That  it  is  not  expedient  at  this  time  to  suspend 
the  sixth  article  of  compact,  for  the  government  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio. 


522 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


THE  REPORT  OF  GENERAL  W.  JOHNSTON, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee  to  which  the  Petitions 
on  the  Slavery  Question  had  been  Referred. 

(Vincennes  Sun,  December  17,  1808.) 

“After  a struggle  of  seven  years  the  inhabitants  of  this 
portion  of  the  British  Empire  in  America  found  themselves 
in  possession  of  independence  as  a nation  and  in  this  in- 
stitution they  adopted  they  secured  the  enjoyment  of  a 
degree  of  personal  liberty  utterly  unknown  to  any  other 
government ; but  an  unfortunate  circumstance  darkened 
the  cheering  prospect.  In  every  state,  but  especially  in 
the  Southern  section  of  the  Union,  an  oppressed  race  of 
man  supplied  by  a most  inhuman  trade,  portended  the 
most  serious  evils  to  the  American  nation.  Sensible  that 
slavery,  in  a country  where  liberty  was  deservedly  so 
dear  and  had  been  purchased  at  so  high  a price,  presented 
a feature  of  deformity  not  to  be  justified,  every  state 
hastened  to  put  an  end  to  the  horrid  traffic ; those  states 
which  could  do  it  without  danger  abolished  slavery  alto- 
gether ; and  those  which  from  the  great  number  of  their 
negroes  could  not  with  a due  regard  to  their  safety  follow 
at  once  the  dictates  of  justice  and  humanity,  enacted  laws 
for  the  protection  of  that  unfortunate  class  of  men  and 
their  gradual  emancipation.  When  the  North  Western 
Territory  was  ceded  by  Virginia  to  the  United  States, 
Congress  obeyed  the  impulse  of  justice  and  benevolence, 
endeavored  to  prevent  the  propagation  of  an  evil  which 
they  could  not  totally  eradicate,  by  enacting  in  the  ordi- 
nance which  forms  our  constitution  that  there  shall  be 
neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  the  Territory, 
otherwise  than  etc. 

The  law  of  the  Territory  entitled  an  act  concerning  the 
introduction  of  negroes  and  mulattoes  into  the  Territory, 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


523 


makes  it  lawful  for  an  holder  of  slaves  to  bring  them  into 
the  Territory  and  to  keep  them  therein  during  sixty  days, 
during  which  period  the  negroe  is  offered  the  alternative  of 
either  signing  an  indenture  by  which  he  binds  himself  for 
a number  of  years,  or  of  being  sent  to  a slave  state  or  Ter- 
ritory there  to  be  sold.  The  natural  inference  from  this 
statement  forces  itself  upon  the  mind  that  the  slave  thus 
circumstanced  is  held  in  involuntary  servitude,  and  that 
the  law  permitting  such  proceedings  is  contrary  both  to 
the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  ordinance  and  that  therefore  it 
is  unconstitutional — *your  committee  might  add  that  the 
most  flagitous  abuse  is  made  of  that  law  ; that  negroes 
brought  here  are  commonly  forced  to  bind  themselves  for 
a number  of  years  reaching  or  extending  the  natural  term 
of  their  lives,  so  that  the  condition  of  those  unfortunate 
persons  is  not  only  involuntary  servitude  but  downright 
slavery — it  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  advert  to  the  novel 
circumstances  of  a person  under  extreme  duress  of  a slave 
becoming  a party  to  a contract,  parting  with  himself  and 
receiving-nothing. 

i.  That  slavery  though  in  itself  unjust  might  neverthe- 
less be  tolerated  from  reasons  of  expediency  is  a point 
which  your  committee  do  not  feel  themselves  at  liberty  to 
concede.  They  are  firmly  fixed  in  the  persuasion  that 
what  is  morally  wrong  can  never  by  expediency  be  made 
right — such  a pliable  doctrine  if  generally  admitted  would 
soon  line  our  highways  with  banditti,  our  streets  with  foot 
pads,  and  fill  our  exchange  alleys  with  swindlers  ; but 
policy  itself  forbids  the  measure.  With  respect  to  popu- 
lation, the  great  and  more  compact  population  of  the 
Middle  and  Eastern  States,  compared  to  that  of  the  South- 
ern states,  justifies  the  expectation  that  emigration  will 
proceed  more  from  the  first  than  the  last.  This  observa- 
tion will  be  rendered  conclusive  by  this  fact,  that  the  State 
of  Virginia,  older  and  larger  than  Pennsylvania,  contains 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


524 

a body  of  militia  of  sixty  odd  thousand  men,  while  Penn- 
sylvania actually  musters  ninety  odd  thousand  men. 

2.  With  respect  to  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  internal 
improvements,  your  committee  cannot  trespass  upon  the 
time  of  the  House  by  entering  minutely  into  the  elucida- 
tion of  this  important  subject,  on  which  very  erroneous 
opinions  have  been  entertained.  They  will  only  observe 
that  a general  view  of  the  different  states  of  the  Union, 
and  of  their  respective  means  of  prosperity  and  importance 
will  soon  convince  the  impartial  enquirer  that  the  hand  of 
freedom  can  best  lay  the  foundation  to,\raise  the  fabric  of 
public  prosperity.  The  old  states  north  of  Maryland, 
without  one  single  precious  commodity,  exporting  nothing 
but  bulky  articles,  present  every  where  the  spectacle  of 
industry  and  animation.  The  style  of  their  agriculture  is 
superior ; their  mills,  bridges,  roads,  canals,  their  manu- 
factures, are  in  point  of  number  without  a parallel  in  the 
Southern  states,  and  they,  besides  other  parts  of  the  world, 
export  to  those  states  manufactured  commodities  to  a large 
amount  annually.  On  the  subject  of  public  improvements 
we  will  beg  leave  to  refer  the  House  to  a document  laid 
before  Congress  on  the  subject  of  roads  and  canals.  The 
state  of  Ohio  furnishes  us  with  a case  in  point  which  aptly 
illustrates  the  two  foregoing  observations.  In  the  short 
space  of  a few  years  our  eyes  witness/\growing  into  im- 
portance, where  but  a little  while  before  Indian  hordes  and 
savage  beasts  roamed  without  control,  farms,  villages, 
towns,  multiplying  with  a rapidity  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  new  settlements;  the  same  causq  will  produce 
the  same  effects.  The  exertions  of  the  free  man  who  la- 
bors for  himself  and  family  must  be  more  effectual  than 
the  faint  efforts  of  a meek  and  dispirited  slave  whose  con- 
dition is  never  to  be  bettered  by  his  incessant  toils.  The 
industrious  will  flock  where  industry  is  honorable  and 
honored,  and  the  man  of  an  independent  spirit  where 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


525 

equity  [equality?]  reigns,  and  where  no  proud  nabob  can 
cast  on  him  a look  of  contempt. 

3d.  With  respect  to  the  influence  which  the  practice  of 
slavery  may  have  upon  morals  and  manners  ; when  men 
are  invested  with  an  uncontrolled  power  over  a number  of 
friendless  human  beings  held  to  incessant  labor ; when 
they  Can  daily  see  the  whip  hurrying  promiscuously  the 
young,  the  aged,  the  infirm,  the  pregnant  woman,  and  the 
mother  with  her  suckling  infant  to  their  daily  toil  ; when 
they  can  see  them  unmoved  shivering  with  cold  and 
pinched  with  hunger;  when  they  can  barter  a human  be- 
ing with  the  same  unfeeling  indifference  that  they  barter  a 
horse  ; part  the  wife  from  her  husband,  and  unmindful  of 
their  mutual  cries  tear  the  child  from  its  mother ; when 
they  can  in  the  unbridled  gust:  of  stormy  passions  inflict 
cruel  punishments  which  no  law  can  avert  or  mitigate  ; 
when  such  things  can  take  place,  can  it  be  expected  that 
the  milk  of  human  kindness  will  ever  moisten  the  eyes  o 
men  in  the  daily  practice  of  such  enormities,  and  that  they 
will  respect  the  moral  obligations  or  the  laws  of  justice 
which  they  are  constantly  outraging  with  the  wretched 
negro.  Their  passions,  never  controlled,  will  break  out 
in  frequent  quarrels,  which  will  be  decided  with  savage 
cruelty,  and  their  manners  will  receive  a tinge  of  repelling 
fierceness,  which  will  be  too  often  discernible  where  a 
proper  education  has  not  softened  and  expanded  the  heart 
and  corrected  the  understanding.  At  the  very  moment 
that  the  progress  of  reason  and  general  benevolence  is 
consigning  slavery  to  its  merited  destination,  that  England, 
sordid  England,  is  blushing  at  the  practice,  that  all  good 
men  of  the  Southern  states  repeat  in  one  common  response 
tremble  for  my  country  when  I reflect  that  God  is  just,' 
must  the  Territory  of  Indiana  take  a retrograde  step  into 
barbarism  and  assimilate  itself  with  Algiers  and  Morocco? 

4th.  With  respect  to  its  political  effects,  it  maybe  worthy 


526  SLA  VERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 

of  enquiry  how  long  the  political  institutions  of  a people 
admitting  slavery  may  be  expected  to  remain  uninjured, 
how  proper  a school  for  the  acquirement  of  republican  vir- 
tues is  a state  of  things  wherein  usurpation  is  sanctioned  by 
law,  wherein  the  commands  of  justice  are  trampled  under 
foot,  wherein  those  claiming  the  right  of  free  men  are  them- 
selves the  most  execrable  of  tyrants,  and  where  is  conse- 
crated the  dangerous  maxim  “ that  power  is  right.”  Your 
committee  will  here  only  observe  that  the  habit  of  unlimited 
dominion  in  the  slave-holder  will  beget  in  him  a spirit  of 
haughtiness  and  pride  productive  of  a proportional  habit  of 
servility  and  despondence  in  those  who  possess  no  negroes, 
both  equally  inimical  to  our  institutions.  The  lord  of  three 
or  four  hundred  negroes  will  not  easily  forgive,  and  the 
mechanic  and  laboring  man  will  seldom  venture  a vote 
contrary  to  the  will  of  such  an  influential  being.  This 
question  your  committee  have  hitherto  only  considered  in 
relation  to  the  internal  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, they  cannot  yet  dismiss  the  subject  without  offering 
to  this  House  two  observations  tending  to  prove  that  in  re- 
lation to  the  United  States  the  admission  of  slavery  into 
this  Territory  is  a measure  which  neither  justice  nor  policy 
can  justify.  The  negro  holders  can  emigrate  with  their 
slaves  into  the  extensive  Mississippi  Territory,  the  Terri- 
tory of  New  Orleans,  and  the  more  extensive  Louisiana. 
By  opening  to  them  the  Territory  of  Indiana,  a kind  of 
monopoly  of  the  United  States  land  is  granted  to  them,  and 
the  Middle  and  Eastern  States  as  well  as  enemies  of  slavery 
from  the  South  are  effectually  precluded  from  forming 
settlements  in  anv  of  the  Territories  of  the  United  States. 

V 

Your  committee  respectfully  conceive  that  the  National 
Legislature  can  not  with  justice  make  such  an  unequal 
distribution  (if they  maybe  allowed  the  expression)  of  the 
lands  with  the  disposal  of  which  they  are  entrusted  for  the 


SLA  VER  Y PE  TITIONS  A ND  PA  PERS.  527 

benefit  of  all,  but  especially  of  those  states  whose  overflow- 
ing population  renders  emigration  necessary. 

If  we  take  a general  survey  of  the  geographical  extent 
of  the  United  States,  we’ll  see  with  concern  the  system  of 
slavery  extending  from  the  line  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Ohio  river  to  the  Floridas,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Mississippi.  By  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  where  it  was 
found  existing,  it  may  spread  to  our  indefinite  extent  North 
and  West,  so  that  it  may  be  said  to  have  received  a most 
alarming  extension  and  is  calculated  to  excite  the  most 
serious  fears.  By  admitting  it  to  Indiana,  that  is  to  say 
opening  to  it  the  vast  tract  of  country  lying  between  the 
state  of  Ohio,  the  river  of  that  name,  the  Lakes,  and  the 
Mississippi,  the  comparative  importance  of  the  Middle  and 
Eastern  states,  the  real  strength  of  the  Union,  is  greatly 
reduced,  and  the  dangers  threatening  the  internal  tran- 
quility of  the  United  States  proportionably  increased. 

From  the  above  reasons,  and  many  others  which  might 
be  adduced,  your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  slavery 
cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  admitted  into  this  Territory; 
that  it  is  inexpedient  to  petition  Congress  for  a modifica- 
tion of  that  part  of  the  ordinance  relative  to  slavery  ; and 
that  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  negroes  and  mulattoes  into  the  said  Territory  ought 
to  be  repealed,  for  which  purpose  they  have  herewith  re- 
ported a bill. 

Your  committee  are  further  of  opinion  that  a copy  of 
this  report  and  a copy  of  one  of  the  petitions  upon  which 
the  same  is  predicated  be  immediately  made  out,  signed 
by  the  Speaker  of  this  House  and  attested  by  the  Clerk, 
and  forwarded  by  the  ensuing  mail  to  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  with  a re- 
quest that  he  will  lay  the  same  before  Congress.” 

Genl.  W.  Johnston. 

Chairman  of  Committee.” 


528 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


OPINION  OF  JOHN  JOHNSON,  IN  POLLY’S  CASE. 

In  1779  or  80  a negro  woman  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians,  of  the  age  of  15.  She  was  sold  to  Isaac  Will- 
iams, at  Detroit  and  sold  by  said  Williams  to  Antoine 
Lasselle.  While  the  said  woman  was  in  the  possession  of 
Lasselle  she  had  three  children,  two  of  whom  I.  B.  La- 
plant  purchased.  Question  are  those  children  slaves? 

As  to  the  first  point,  the  woman  was  taken  by  the  In- 
dians as  allies  of  England  while  they  were  in  a state  of 
warfare  with  the  state  of  Virginia  and  the  other  states  of 
the  United  States.  As  such  she  must  be  considered  as  a 
lawful  prize,  at  least  so  much  so  that  the  conqueror  had 
a right  by  virtue  of  his  power  to  dispose  of  her  life  or  per- 
son as  he  might  think  proper.  This  position  is  strength- 
ened because  of  her  being  held  as  a species  of  property 
by  her  owner  before  and  at  the  time  she  was  taken. 
Secondly  Detroit  and  what  was  formerly  called  the  North 
Western  Territory  in  the  years  1779  & 80  (nay  untill 
1783)  was  an  integral  part  of  the  state  of  Virginia  and  gov- 
erned by  the  same  laws.  By  a law  of  the  Colony  of  Vir- 
ginia passed  in  the  year  1705  negroes  reduced  to  posses- 
sion are  considered  as  slaves.  This  law  still  continues  in 
force  with  some  small  variation  with  regard  to  the  manner 
of  transferring  that  property.  Thus  the  said  woman  could 
be  held  as  a slave  either  by  virtue  of  conquest  or  by  virtue 
of  the  laws  of  Virginia. 

In  1783  Virginia  ceded  the  North  Western  Territory  in- 
cluding Detroit  to  the  United  States.  By  the  articles  of 
cession  and  by  the  Ordinance  for  the  Government  of  this 
Territory  the  rights  and  privileges  and  also  the  property 
of  the  inhabitants  are  guarranteed  to  them.  Hence  the  said 
negro  woman  being  taken  and  considered  as  a species  of 
property  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Ordinance  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  said  Territory  the  6th  article  thereof  which 


SLAVERY  PETITIONS  AND  PAPERS. 


529 

prohibits  involuntary  servitude  can  not  affect  her  condition 
or  the  rights  of  her  master.  Thirdly  the  children  follow 
the  condition  of  the  mother  and  not  of  the  father.  This 
point  is  as  well  defined  by  law  as  any  other  whatever  and 
the  reason  of  it  is  this.  The  Slave  being  considered  as  the 
absolute  property  of  the  master  for  life  he  has  a right  to 
all  the  undivided  emoluments  arising  from  such  slave  and 
the  increase  of  such  female  slave  being  part  of  the  benefit 
arising  from  such  kind  of  property  as  much  so  as  her  labor. 
From  the  foregoing  premises  I am  decidedly  of  opinion 
that  the  children  of  the  Negro  Woman  alluded  to  are 

slaves.  Jno.  Johnson. 

Indorsement . 

Opinion  Johohn  Jonson  Avocast 
pour  po!4s  negresse. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Akansa  Indians,  attachment  for  the  whites,  415. 

Albany,  mention  of,  117. 

American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  mention  of,  238. 

American  Colonization  Society,  organization  of,  248;  intentions  opposed 
by  Charles  Osborn,  248,  249. 

Anti-Slavery  agitation  of  1848  enforced  the  cause  of  freedom,  266. 
Anti-slavery  societies,  number  of  in  the  United  States,  246. 
Appropriations  of  Indiana  Territory,  early  legislative,  32. 

Attorneys  in  Northwest  Territory,  oath  of,  10;  neither  party  to  a suit  al- 
lowed more  than  two,  or  more  than  one  if  but  two  attorneys  are  at- 
tending court,  10. 

Auglaize  River,  see  Grand  Glaze  River. 

Aurora,  Town  of,  near  site  of  Loughery’s  Defeat,  107. 

Bare  Banks,  mention  of  112. 

Batteaux,  mention  of,  114. 

Bedford,  mention  of,  117. 

Big  Miami  (Mineamie)  River,  mention  of,  119,  121,  126,  420.  See  Miami 
River. 

Bread  of  early  settlers,  preparation  of  corn  for,  378;  kinds  of  bread  made 
by  settlers,  383,  384 
Buffalo  Island,  mention  of,  112. 

Cabins,  construction  of,  396. 

Cahokia,  a considerable  settlement  in  1800,  16. 

Carleton  Island,  mention  of,  114. 

Carlysle,  mention  of,  117. 

Carnahan’s  Block-house,  rendezvous  of  Col.  Loughery’s  command, 
106,  hi. 

Cascades,  The,  mention  of,  114. 

Catfish  Island,  mention  of,  112. 

Caughnawaga  village,  mention  of,  114. 

Chateaugay  Island,  mention  of,  114. 

Chateaugay  River,  mention  of,  114. 

Cherokee  (Cherakee)  River,  mention  of,  410,  414,  421. 

Children,  Disobedient,  laws  of  Northwest  Territory  providing  for  punish- 
ment of,  9. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


53  2 

Chickasaw  (Chicasa)  Indians,  attachment  to  whites,  415. 

Chillicothe  (Chillecothey),  mention  of,  113. 

Chipkawkay,  afterwards  called  the  Post  on  the  Wabash,  331. 

Cincinnati,  Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
passed  at,  8. 

Civil  War,  The,  traceable  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68. 

Clark’s  Grant,  a considerable  settlement  in  1800,  16;  amount  of  land  in, 

1 18;  petition  for  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title  to,  463;  pe- 
tition for  a grant  of  land  for  the  support  of  schools  in,  464. 

Clothing  of  early  settlers,  preparation  of  flax  for,  389;  manufacture  of  tow 
linen,  linsey  woolsey  and  jeans,  390;  buckskin,  391;  the  making  of 
of  garments,  391 ; moccasins  and  head  dresses,  392;  value  of  skins,  393; 
fashions,  394. 

Cohorse,  Settlement  of,  mention  of,  116. 

Cold  Feet  Village,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Compromise  of  1850,  a result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68. 

Connecticut  River,  mention  of,  116. 

Constitution  of  1816  and  its  adoption,  33. 

Convention  of  1816,  32. 

Corn,  primitive  method  of  grinding,  378. 

Coteau  du  Lac,  mention  of,  114. 

Crimes  and  Punishments  in  Indiana  Territory,  21,  26. 

Cumberland  River,  mention  of,  410. 

Debt,  Imprisonment  for,  in  Northwest  Territory,  9. 

Delaware  Indians,  home  of,  409,  418. 

Delaware  River,  mention  of,  117. 

Des  Plaines  River,  distance  from  Detroit  to,  438. 

Detroit,  Clark’s  plan  for  a campaign  against,  97  et  seq.;  mention  of,  334, 
337;  table  of  distances  from  to  Illinois,  435. 

Devor’s  Ferry,  mention  of,  111. 

Divorces  in  Indiana  Territory,  26. 

Dred  Scot  Case,  The,  a result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68. 

Eel  River  (Little  Rock  River),  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Elm  Meadow,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

English  Common  Law  in  force  in  Northwest  Territory,  11. 

Federalists,  Views  of  the,  with  reference  to  the  right  of  the  United  States 
to  acquire  territory  by  purchase,  83,  84  ; endeavored  to  embarrass  the 
administration  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  85,  86  ; decay  of  the 
party,  86. 

Fees  of  judicial  officers  and  attorneys  in  Indiana  Territory,  19,  27. 

First  book  printed  in  Indiana,  17. 


GENERAL  INDEX.  533 

First  General  Assembly  of  Northwest  Territory,  organization  and  legis- 
lation, 13. 

Fishing  Creek,  Lieut.  Baker  and  command  attempt  to  desert  Col. 
Clark  at,  106,  hi. 

Fishkill’s  Landing,  mention  of,  116,  1 1 7. 

Flats,  The,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Food  of  early  settlers,  bread,  383  ; game,  384  ; tame  and  wild  hogs,  385, 
386;  fish,  potatoes,  386;  flour,  387;  manner  of  cooking  meat,  387; 
abundance  of  game,  388. 

Fort  Assumption,  location  of,  414. 

Fort  at  Cascaskias,  mention  of,  414. 

Fort  Charters  (Chartres),  mention  of,  414,  416;  health  of  English  garrison, 
417;  donation  of  land  to  each  family  at,  450,  453. 

Fort  at  Cahokia  (Coake),  mention  of,  414. 

Fort  Erie,  mention  of,  114. 

Fort  Harmer,  mention  of,  7. 

Fort  Harrison,  attack  on,  131. 

Fort  Henry  (Wheeling),  halt  of  Col.  Loughery  at,  106;  mention  of,  1 1 1,  1 19, 
126;  expedition  from  in  1782,  108. 

Fort  Jefferson,  distress  at  in  1780  from  lack  of  provisions,  98. 

Fort  Massiac  (Massac),  location  of,  421  ; mention  of,  458. 

Fort  Miamie,  distance  from  Detroit  to,  435;  list  of  inhabitants  at,  440. 

Fort  Miamis,  building  of,  325;  mention  of,  334,  336. 

Fort  of  the  Natchez,  condition  of  in  1766,  414. 

Fort  Niagara,  mention  of,  114. 

Fort  Pimetoui  (Pumetewes),  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Fort  Pitt,  distance  from  Philadelphia,  409  ; mention  of,  101,  104,  336,  410, 
416,  417,  418,  419,  420. 

Fort  Schlosser,  mention  of,  114. 

Fort  St.  Josephs,  road  from  Detroit  to,  437  ; distance  from  Detroit  to,  438. 

Fort  St.  Louis,  Indian  confederacy  established  at,  327  ; Indiana  Indians 
emigrated  to,  327  ; Ouiatanons  emigrated  to,  328. 

Fort  on  the  Wabash,  now  Vincennes,  331. 

Franklin,  State  of,  organization  of,  73. 

French,  The,  early  explorations  and  colonization  of,  66,  67  ; desire  of  for 
trading  posts  and  military  stations  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  324  ; estab- 
lished a military  post  at  Ouiatanon,  329,  330  ; friendship  of  Indians 
for,  337;  drunkenness  of,  411  ; influence  over  Indians,  413;  duplicity 
of,  413. 

Fugitive  Slave  Act,  passage  of  strengthened  the  cause  of  freedom,  226. 

Garlic  Island,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

General  Assembly  of  Indiana  Territory,  organization  of,  23. 

“Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,”  edited  by  Benjamin  Lundy,  when 
started  and  why,  257. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


534 

Glades,  The,  mention  of,  117. 

Grand  Glaze  (Auglaize)  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Grand  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  437, 

Grave  Creek,  mention  of,  111. 

Great  Bend,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Great  Britain  sent  agent  to  Kentucky  in  1789,  75. 

Great  Miami  (Meyamee)  River,  mention  of,  112.  See  Miami  River. 
Great  Rapid,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Hackettstown,  mention  of,  117. 

Hartford  Convention,  The,  admission  of  new  States  in  the  West  its  ground 
of  complaint,  89. 

Handewine  Sippy,  see  Huron  River. 

Heason’s  Road,  mention  of,  115. 

Highlands,  The,  distance  from  Detroit,  437. 

Hockhocking  River,  mention  of,  419. 

Howell’s  Ferry,  mention  of,  117. 

Huron  Indians,  home  of,  435. 

Huron  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  437. 

Illinois  Indians,  number  of,  41 1. 

Illinois  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  437. 

Illinois  settlements,  fertility  of  land,  410;  trade  of,  41 1;  number  of  in- 
habitants, 414. 

Illinois  Territory  governed  by  laws  in  force  in  Indiana  Territory  at  date 
of  its  organization,  15. 

Indiana  Canal  Company,  incorporation  of,  24. 

Indiana,  Central,  early  settlers  in,  378;  settlement  and  purchase  of  land, 
395;  social  equality,  396;  construction  of  cabins,  396;  orchards,  397; 
improving  land,  397;  log-rollings,  bed-quiltings  and  corn-huskings, 
398;  household  furniture,  398,  399,  400;  sickness,  400,  401,  402. 
Indiana.  First  map  of,  370. 

Indiana  Historical  Society,  services  of  John  B.  Dillon,  52;  vicissitudes  of 
its  library,  53. 

Indiana,  State  of,  admission  of,  33;  condition  of  in  1816,  34. 

Indiana  State  Publications: 

Constitutional  Convention  Proceedings: 

Convention  of  1816,  145. 

Convention  of  1851,  145,  4 

Legislative  Proceedings: 

House  and  Senate  Journals,  146. 

Documentary  Journals  and  Annual  Reports,  148. 

Brevier  Legislative  Reports,  158. 

Session  Laws,  159. 

Revisions,  162, 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Reports  of  State  Officers,  164. 

Adjutant  General,  165. 

Agent  of  State,  167. 

Agriculture,  State  Board,  168. 

Attorney-General,  169. 

Auditor  of  State,  170. 

Banks:  State  Bank,  172. 

Bank  of  State,  174. 

Blind  Institute,  174. 

Canal  Fund  Commissioners,  174. 

Centennial  Commissioner,  176. 

Charities,  Board  of  State,  176. 

Colonization  Board,  176. 

Commissary  General,  177. 

Custodian  of  Public  Buildings,  177. 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Institute,  177. 

Equalization  Board,  179. 

Feeble-Minded  Youth,  180. 

Fisheries  Commissioner,  181. 

Fund  Commissioners,  181. 

Geology  and  Natural  Resources,  181. 

Governor:  Messages,  184. 

Reprieves,  etc.,  184. 

Contingent  Expenses,  etc.,  184. 

Health  Board,  185. 

Horticultural  Society,  185. 

Indianapolis,  Agent  of  State  for,  186. 

Insane  Hospitals:  Old  Hospital,  186. 

Department  for  Women,  189. 

Additional  Hospitals,  189. 

Insurance  Commission,  189. 

Insurance  Commissioner,  190. 

Internal  Improvement  Board,  190. 

Kankakee  River  Commissioners,  194. 

Librarian,  State,  194. 

Live  Stock  Sanitary  Commission,  195. 

Loan  Commissioners,  196. 

Michigan  Road  Commissioner,  196. 

Mine  Inspector,  197. 

New  Albany  and  Vincennes  Turnpike  Road,  197. 
Normal  School,  198. 

Oil  Inspector,  198. 

Prison,  South,  199. 

Prison,  North,  202. 


536 


GENERAL.  INDEX. 


Reports  of  State  Officers — Continued. 

Public  Instruction:  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  204. 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  204. 

Purdue  University,  205. 

Quarter-Master  General,  206. 

Reform  School  for  Boys,  207. 

Reform  School  for  Girls,  208. 

Secretary  of  State,  209. 

Sinking  Fund,  211. 

Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Monument,  212. 

Soldiers’  and  Sailors’  Orphans’  Asylum,  212. 

State  Debt  Sinking  Fund,  213. 

State  House  Commissioners:  Old  State  House,  214. 

New  State  House,  214. 

Statistics,  Bureau,  216. 

Swamp  Land  Records,  Clerk,  216. 

Three  Per  Cent.  Fund,  Agent,  217. 

Treasurer  of  State,  217. 

University,  Indiana,  219. 

Vienna  Exposition  Commissioner,  220. 

Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  Trustees,  221. 

Wabash  River,  Commissioner,  223. 

War  offices:  Agent  to  Purchase  Arms,  224. 

Allotment  Commissioner,  224. 

Arsenal,  State,  224. 

Draft  Commissioner,  224. 

Finance  Bureau,  224. 

Gettysburg  Soldiers’  National  Cemetery,  224. 

Hospital  Surgeons,  224. 

Legion,  Indiana,  224. 

Military  Agents,  224. 

Military  Auditing  Committee,  224. 

Ordnance  Officer,  224. 

Pay  Agents,  224. 

Paymaster,  State,  225. 

Sanitary  Commission,  225. 

Special  Agent  to  visit  troops,  etc.,  225. 

List  of  Reports  now  required  to  be  published,  225. 

Supieme  Court  Reports,  226. 

Miscellaneous  Reports,  228. 

Suggestions  as  to  State  Publications,  230. 

Indiana  Territorial  Publications: 

Journals  of  Territorial  General  Assembly,  143. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


537 


Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges,  143. 

Laws  of  General  Assembly,  144. 

Indiana  Territory,  governed  by  laws  of  the  Northwest  Territory  after  its 
organization  as  a separate  territory,  14;  no  congressional  sanction  for 
this,  15;  its  laws  in  force  in  Illinois  Territory,  15 ; organization  of  Ter- 
ritory, 15;  area  comprised  in,  15;  plan  of  government  the  same  as  that 
of  Northwest  Territory,  16;  population  in  1800,  counties,  settlements 
and  hardships  of  travel,  16;  first  governor  and  judges,  16;  first  legis- 
lative sessions  of  governor  and  judges,  17;  first  book  printed  in  Ter- 
ritory, 17;  tax  laws  and  tax  lists,  18;  judicial  system,  19;  fees  of  court 
officers  and  attorneys,  19,  27;  slavery  legislation,  20;  crimes  and  pun- 
ishments, 21,  26  ; validity  of  laws,  22  ; laws  adopted  from  other 
States,  22  ; jurisdiction  of  Governor  and  Judges  over  the  District 
of  Louisiana,  22;  organization  of  Territorial  General  Assembly, 
23;  meetings  of  General  Assembly,  23;  revised  laws  of,  23;  Vin- 
cennes University  and  lottery,  24;  divorces,  26;  a curious  relief  act, 
27;  trouble  in  regard  to  Territorial  courts,  27;  Territorial  court  given 
equity  jurisdiction  and  appeals  to  United  States  Supreme  Court  au- 
thorized, 28;  further  slavery  legislation,  29,  30,  31;  veto  power  of  Gov- 
ernor, 31;  early  legislative  appropriations,  32;  convention  and  consti- 
tion  of  1816,32;  territory  curtailed,  organization  of  Michigan  and  Illi- 
nois Territories,  32;  admission  to  Statehood,  33;  condition  in  1816, 
34;  petition  for  the  repeal  of  the  slavery  article  in  the  ordinance 
of  1787  and  for  the  laying  off  of  donation  lands,  447;  report  thereon, 
452;  petition  for  the  modification  of  the  slavery  article,  the  extinguish- 
ment of  Indian  titles,  the  opening  of  roads  and  inns,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  garrisons,  455;  petition  for  the  suspension  of  the  slavery 
article,  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles,  the  passage  of  a pre-emp- 
tion law,  a grant  of  land  for  the  support  of  schools,  the  opening  of 
roads  and  inns,  the  extension  of  the  Territory  to  include  Saline 
Spring,  the  laying  off  of  donation  lands,  the  extension  of  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  all  males  of  full  age  and  the  allowance  of  a salary  to  the 
Attorney-General, 461 ; resolution  of  the  Vincennes  convention  agree- 
ing to  a suspension  of  the  sixth  article,  469;  report  on  resolution, 
memorial  and  petition,  470;  second  report  on  resolution,  473;  legisla- 
tive petition  asking  right  to  introduce  slaves  into  the  Territory,  the 
extension  of  suffrage,  the  ceding  of  salt  springs,  the  locating  of  dona- 
tion lands,  protesting  against  a division  of  the  Territory  and  against 
a removal  of  the  seat  of  government  from  Vincennes,  and  asking  that 
the  two  States  to  be  formed  from  the  Territory  be  controlled  by  one 
government,  476;  memorial  praying  the  erection  of  the  Territory 
into  two  States,  the  modification  of  the  sixth  article,  the  removal 
of  the  seat  of  government  and  the  abatement  of  the  vexatious  issuance 
of  writs  of  attachment,  483;  petition  of  Dearborn  County  to  be  an- 


S3§ 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


nexed  to  State  of  Ohio,  492;  report  on  above  petitions,  494;  memorial 
asking  the  erection  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties  into  a sepa- 
rate colony,  498;  minutes  of  convention  that  drafted  preceding  memo- 
rial, 503;  census  accompanying  above  minutes,  505;  legislative  reso- 
lutions of  1807  regarding  slavery,  507;  House  report  on  resolution,  509; 
second  memorial  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  510;  counter 
petition  of  Randolph  County,  512;  legislative  resolution  of  1807  that 
it  was  expedient  to  suspend  the  sixth  article,  515;  counter  petition  of 
Clark  County,  518;  report  on  preceding,  521;  report  of  chairman  of 
committee  to  which  petitions  were  referred,  522. 

Indiana  University,  laws  relating  to,  219. 

Indianapolis,  choice  of  location  of,  379;  town  laid  out  and  lots  sold,  381. 

Internal  Improvement  Act,  what  it  provided  for,  191. 

Iron  Mountain  River.  See  Kalamazoo  River. 

Iroquois  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Isle  of  Berrot,  mention  of,  114. 

Judicial  Circuits  in  Northwest  Territory,  allowance  by  Congress  to  two 
judges  for  traveling  expenses  incurred,  14;  means  of  travel,  14. 

Judicial  System  of  Indiana  Territory,  19. 

Juniata  River,  mention  of,  117. 

Kahokia,  donation  of  land  to  each  family  residing  at,  453. 

Kalamazoo  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Kanawha  (Canaway,  Canawha)  River,  mention  of,  409,  419. 

Kankakee  (Recankeekee)  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  The,  a result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68. 

Kaskaskia,  a considerable  settlement  in  1800,  16;  distress  in  1780  from 
lack  of  provisions,  98;  donation  of  land  to  each  family  at,  450,  453. 

Kaskaskia  Indians  almost  extinct  in  1800,  457. 

Kaskaskia  River,  good  farming  land  on,  450. 

Kenapacomaqua,  destruction  of  Indian  town  of,  347. 

Kentucky  River,  mention  of,  420. 

Kethtippecanunk,  site  of,  331;  capture  by  Gen.  Scott,  342;  the  town,  343; 
sometimes  called  Upper  Ouiatanon,  346;  second  destruction  of  by 
Gen.  Wilkinson,  347;  becomes  a meeting  place  of  the  Indians,  347; 
later  known  as  Prophetstown,  347. 

Kickapoo  (Kiskapous,  Quicapous)  Indians,  reliance  of  French  upon,  333; 
home  of,  335,  410,  420. 

Kings  Glaze  River,  distance  from  Detroit  to,  435.  See  Grand  Glaze  River . 

La  Belle  Riviere,  French  translation  of  Iroquois  name  for  the  Ohio,  409. 

La  Chine,  mention  of,  1 14;  granted  to  La  Salle  by  the  Sulpician  monks,  319. 

Lancaster,  mention  of,  1 1 7. 

Laremes,  mention  of,  113. 

Laws  of  Governer  and  Judges  of  Northwest  Territory,  when  printed,  7; 
rarety  of  volumes,  7,  note ; where  passed,  8;  validity  of,  12. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


539 


Legislative  power  of  Northwest  Territory,  5. 

Les  Gros,  Indian  village  of,  329. 

Licking  Creek,  mention  of,  420. 

Liquor  laws  of  Northwest  Territory,  9. 

Little  Glaze  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Little  Kanawha  (Connaway)  River,  Col.  Laughery  instructed  to  join  Col. 
Clark  at,  106,  111. 

Little  Miami  (Mimeamie)  River,  mention  of,  420.  See  Miami  River. 

Little  Rock  River  (Bull  Creek),  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Long  Beach,  mention  of,  111. 

Long  Prairie,  The,  good  farming  land  at,  450. 

Long  Saut,  mention  of,  114. 

Longueil  Church,  mention  of,  114. 

Loughery’s  Creek,  scene  of  Loughery’s  Defeat,  107. 

Loughery’s  Defeat,  Clark’s  plan  for  a campaign  against  Detroit,  97;  dis- 
couragements met  with,  98,  99,  100;  correspondence  of  Col.  Clark 
with  the  Governor  of  Virginia  showing  the  difficulty  of  securing  a 
sufficient  force,  100,  102,  103;  letter  of  Col.  Clark  to  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, 101;  letter  of  Major  Croghan  to  Col.  Wm.  Davis  telling  of 
Clark’s  departure  from  near  Fort  Pitt,  104;  Col.  Archibald  Laughery 
and  the  movements  of  his  force,  106;  capture  of  Col.  Laughery  and 
his  command,  107;  British  report  of  the  defeat,  109;  diary  of  Capt. 
Isaac  Anderson,  111,  et  seq affidavit  of  James  Kean  concerning  the 
defeat,  120,  121;  affidavit  of  Ezekiel  Lewis  concerning  the  defeat, 
125,126. 

Louisiana,  acquisition  of,  one  of  the  three  most  prominent  events  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  United  States,  65;  French  and  Spanish  colonization,  66;  the 
question  of  slavery,  67;  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  as  affecting  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  68;  the  settlements  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  and  their 
possibilities  of  commerce  and  immigration,  69,  70;  ownership  of  the 
lower  Mississippi  Valley,  70;  claim  of  Spain  to  ownership  and  conten- 
tions of  the  settlers,  71;  consent  of  the  United  States  to  yield  claim  to 
navigation  of  lower  Mississippi  for  twenty-five  years,  72;  organiza- 
tions of  the  State  of  Franklin,  73;  Spanish  levies  on  American  com- 
merce, 73;  methods  of  redress  suggested,  74;  labors  of  Gen.  James 
Wilkinson  in  Ohio  Valley,  74;  intrigue  of  Great  Britain  and  Spain, 
75,  76;  treaty  of  October,  1795,  with  Spain,  76;  dissatisfaction  with 
treaty,  76;  intrigues  of  Don  Francisco  de  Miranda,  77;  retrocession 
of  Louisiana  by  Spain  to  France,  77;  letter  of  Thomas  Jefferson  to 
Mr.  Livingston,  Minister  at  Paris,  78;  necessity  for  the  acquisition 
of  Louisiana,  79;  a constitutional  obstacle,  80,  81,  82;  view  of  the 
Federalists,  83,  84;  accomplishment  of  the  purchase,  85;  contention 
of  the  Federalists  that  the  purchase  was  in  effect  a dissolution  of  the 


54° 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Union,  86;  relation  of  subsequent  events  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana, 
87,  88,  89,  90;  dangers  of  the  precedent  it  set,  92. 

Louisiana,  District  of,  jurisdiction  of  Governor  and  Judges  of  Indiana 
Territory  over,  22. 

McKeesport,  mention  of,  126. 

Man  in  History,  what  is  history,  273;  significance  of  history,  277;  prog 
ress  of  the  study  of  history,  284;  value  of  history,  291;  man’s  place 
in  History,  297;  insignificance  of  the  individual,  306. 

Maracle’s  Mill,  mention  of,  111. 

Marietta,  Ohio,  capital  of  Northwest  Territory,  6;  laws  of  Governor  and 
Judges  passed  at,  8. 

Mascoutin  (Mascoutens)  Indians,  reliance  of  French  upon,  333;  home  of, 

335>  438- 

Maumee  (Marne,  Miamie)  River,  way  of  reaching  Indiana  via,  34;  men- 
tion of,  1 13;  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Maxwell  Code,  what,  and  when  printed,  7;  an  almost  literal  transcript  of 
statutes  of  the  original  states,  12;  an  excellent  code,  13;  sources  of 
its  laws,  22. 

Memphremagog,  Lake,  mention  of,  115. 

Merrimac  River,  mention  of,  116. 

Mexico,  war  with,  poured  a flood  of  light  upon  slavery,  265. 

Miami  Confederacy,  mention  of,  328. 

Miami  Indians,  ordered  to  drive  the  English  from  their  Ohio  River  settle- 
ments, 333;  home  of,  435. 

Miami  (Mineamie)  River,  purpose  of  Indians  to  ambush  Col.  Clark  at 
mouth  of,  106;  mention  of,  112,  119,  126,  420. 

Middle  Island,  mention  of,  in. 

Middletown,  mention  of,  117. 

Militia  Law  of  1788  provided  for  parade  on  Sundays  adjacent  to  places  of 
worship,  8. 

Mill,  first  built  in  New  Purchase,  378. 

Mingo  Indians.  See  Seneca  Indians. 

Missisque  River,  mention  of,  115. 

Mississippi  River,  discovery  of,  322;  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Missouri  Compromise,  The,  a result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68; 
quieted  the  general  alarm  for  a time,  90;  marked  a line  of  demarka- 
tion  between  free  and  slave  territory  in  the  west,  90;  repeal  of  en- 
forced the  cause  of  freedom,  266. 

Mohawk  Indians,  mention  of,  119,  120,  126. 

Monongahela  River,  mention  of,  126. 

Montreal,  mention  of,  114,  337. 

Municipal  Incorporation,  incorporation  of  first  in  Indiana,  24. 

Muskingum  River,  mention  of,  409,  418. 

Musqueton.  See  Mascoutin. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


541 


New  Albany,  site  of  probably  reached  by  La  Salle  in  1669,  321. 

New  Albany  and  Vincennes  Turnpike  Road,  incorporated,  190,  197. 

Newburg,  mention  of,  117. 

New  Madrid,  settlement  made  at,  75. 

New  Orleans  Company,  mention  of,  412,  413. 

New  Purchase,  reference  to,  34. 

New  Windsor,  mention  of,  117. 

North  Carolina  Manumission  Society,  mention  of,  252. 

North  River,  mention  of,  117. 

Northwest  Territory,  The,  a primitive  wilderness,  3;  modes  of  reaching 
it,  4;  ordinance  of  1787,  4;  states  to  be  formed  from  it,  5;  officers  and 
mode  of  appointment,  5;  legislative  power,  5;  power  to  organize  a 
general  assembly,  6;  first  officers,  6;  arrival  of  Governor  and  Judges 
at  Marietta,  6;  appearance  of  the  new  capitol,  6;  opening  of  first 
court,  6;  first  legislative  session  of  Governor  and  Judges,  7;  laws  of 
Governor  and  Judges,  when  printed,  7;  where  passed,  8;  to  what  they 
chiefly  related,  8;  militia  law  of  1788,  8;  pillories  and  whipping  posts 
authorized,  8;  law  providing  punishment  for  disobedient  children  and 
servants,  9;  liquor  laws,  9;  collection  of  taxes,  9;  imprisonment  for 
debt,  9;  attorneys,  10;  English  common  law  in  force,  11;  profane 
swearing,  n;  validity  of  laws  of  Governor  and  Judges,  12;  Maxwell 
code,  12,  13;  organization  of  first  general  assembly,  and  acts  passed 
by  it,  13;  judicial  circuits  and  means  of  travel,  14;  laws  of  Northwest 
Territory  operative  in  Indiana  Territory  after  its  organization,  14; 
extent  of  Territory  after  organization  of  Indiana  Territory,  15;  sources 
of  laws  of  Governor  and  Judges,  22. 

Ohio  River,  mode  of  reaching  Indiana  by,  34;  La  Salle’s  expedition  to,  319, 
et  seq.\  true  course  of  the  Ohio  known,  321;  French  claim  to,  323; 
desire  of  the  French  for  trading  posts  in  the  Ohio  valley,  324;  or- 
ders to  drive  the  English  from,  332;  tributaries  of,  418,  420;  falls  of 
420;  banks  and  width,  420;  mouth  of,  421 ; census  of  inhabitants  on,  506. 

Ohio,  State  of,  admitted  to  the  Union,  15. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  The,  passage  of,  3;  prohibited  slavery,  4;  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end  of  slavery  in  America,  65,  91;  petition  for  the  al- 
teration or  repeal  of  the  slavery  article  of  compact  in,  etc.,  447;  report 
thereon,  452;  petition  for  the  modification  of  the  sixth  article,  etc., 
455;  petition  for  the  repeal  or  suspension  of  the  sixth  article,  etc.,  461; 
resolution  of  the  Vincennes  Convention  agreeing  to  suspend  the  sixth 
article,  469;  letter  of  Wm.  Henry  Harrison,  President  of  Convention 
transmitting  resolution  to  Speaker  of  House  of  Representatives,  470; 

- petition  asking  the  repeal  of  so  much  of  Ordinance  of  1787  as  relates 
to  suffrage,  etc.,  476;  legislative  resolution  of  1807  concerning  suspen- 
sion of  sixth  article,  507;  letter  transmitting  above  resolution  to 
Speaker  of  House,  509;  House  report  on  resolution,  509. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


542 

Osage  (Ozage)  Indians  not  drunkards,  415. 

Oswegatchie,  mention  of,  114. 

Ottawa  Indians,  home  of,  435. 

Ouabache.  See  Wabash. 

Ouiatanon  (Oujatanon),  site  of,  319,  327;  advantages  of,  328;  description 
of,  329;  military  post  established  at  by  the  French,  329,  330;  site  of  now 
distinguishable,  331;  commandants  of  fort,  331;  letter  of  Beauharnois 
to  Count  Maurepas  concerning,  332;  relations  with  the  Indians,  333; 
progress  of  the  settlement,  334;  it  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  British, 
334;  its  capture  by  the  Indians,  334;  ill  feeling  existing  between  the 
English  and  French  and  Indians,  335;  description  of  settlement  and 
fort,  338,  339;  Indian  war  threatened,  339;  was  not  the  town  destroyed 
by  Gen.  Scott,  346;  mention  of  fort,  414;  location  of,  420;  location 
and  distance  from  Detroit,  436  and  note ; list  of  inhabitants  at,  440. 

Ouiatanon  (Ouyatanon)  Tribes,  The,  movements  of,  328;  site  of  town  on 
Wabash  River  now  clearly  distinguishable,  331;  orders  to  drive  the 
English  from  the  Ohio,  332;  home  of,  335,338,  420;  mission  of  Antoine 
Gamelin  to  and  its  failure,  339,  340;  Gen.  Scott  despatched  against, 
340;  capture  of  Indian  towns,  341,342;  second  expedition  against,  346; 
destruction  of  towns,  347;  later  history  involved  in  mystery,  347;  men- 
tion of,  410. 

Ouija,  Indian  village  of,  440. 

Passumpic  River,  mention  of,  115. 

Peanguichias,  Indian  village  of,  329.  See  Piankishaws. 

Pennycuik  (Pennysuik),  mention  of,  116. 

Petersburg,  formerly  Tanner’s  Station,  366. 

Petitscotias,  Indian  village  of,  329. 

Philadelphia,  mention  of,  117. 

Philanthropist,  The,  publication  begun  by  Charles  Osborn,  248;  quota- 
tions from  on  slave  colonization  and  slavery,  248  to  256;  sale  of  to 
Elisha  Bates,  251;  when,  where  and  why  published,  257. 

Philanthropist,  The,  edited  by  James  G.  Birney,  mention  of,  257. 

Phillipsburg,  mention  of,  117. 

Piankishaw  Indians,  home  of,  410,  437. 

Pigeon  Roost  Massacre,  account  of  by  Judge  I.  Naylor,  128;  account  of 
by  A.  W.  Tobias,  132;  effect  of  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Hull,  129;  at- 
tack on  the  Pigeon  Roost  settlement,  129;  escape  of  Mrs.  Beal,  130; 
attack  on  Fort  Harrison  and  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  131;  events 
of  1812-13,  131;  situation  of  Pigeon  Roost,  132;  account  of  the  mas- 
sacre, 132;  escape  of  the  Collins  family,  133;  pursuit  of  the  Indians, 
133;  burial  place  of  the  victims,  134. 

Pillories  and  Whipping  Posts,  authorized  by  law  of  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, 8. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


543 


Pipe  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Pittsburg,  mention  of,  103,  126. 

Polly’s  Case,  opinion  of  John  Johnson  in,  528. 

Post  St.  Vincent.  See  Fort  St.  Vincent. 

Puttawattamee  Indians,  home  of,  437,  438. 

Prairie  Duchaine,  census  of  inhabitants  of  with  those  on  the  Illinois 
River,  506. 

Prairie  du  Rochers,  donation  of  land  to  each  family  residing  at,  450,  453. 
Prairie  Ronde,  distance  from  Detroit,  438. 

Presque  Isle  Bay,  mention  of,  114. 

Private  Corporation,  incorporation  of  first,  24. 

Prophetstown,  see  Kethtippecammk. 

Pusawpaw  Sippy,  see  Kalamazoo  River. 

Put-in-Bay,  mention  of,  113. 

Pyankasaw  (Pyankeshaw)  Indians,  home  of,  335,  420.  See  Piankishaws. 
Raccoon  Settlement,  mention  of,  m. 

Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  census  of  April,  1801,  and  immigration  to 
between  1801  and  1806,  506. 

Richard’s  Coal  Mine,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

River  a Boite,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Riviere  de  Rochers,  La,  mention  of,  409. 

Roche  de  Bout,  mention  of,  113. 

Rocking  Cave,  location  of,  458. 

Saline  Creek,  see  Salt  River. 

Saline  Spring,  The,  petition  for  the  extension  of  boundary  of  Indiana 
Territory  to  include,  465;  reports  on,  472,  475,  476. 

Salominee  (Salliminee)  River,  distance  from  Detroit  to,  436. 

Salt  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  437. 

Sassafras  Bottom,  mention  of,  112. 

Scalping,  abolition  of  the  custom,  344. 

Scioto  (Siotha)  River,  mention  of,  112,  409,  418,  419. 

Seneca  Indians,  mention  of,  119,  120,  125;  home  of,  410. 

Servants,  disobedient,  laws  of  Northwest  Territory  providing  for  punish- 
ment of,  9. 

Sewickley  (Sewekey),  or  Jacob’s  Swamps,  mention  of,  125. 

Shawnee  (Shawanise,  Shawanoe)  Indians,  home  of,  105,  409,  419. 

Skins,  value  of  in  early  days,  393. 

Shippensburg,  mention  of,  117. 

Slavery,  existed  in  Indiana  Territory,  20;  slavery  legislation,  20;  laws 
adopted  from  slave  states,  22;  further  slavery  legislation,  29,30,31; 
slavery  clause  in  constitution  of  1816,  33;  influence  of  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  on  slavery  in  the  United  States,  68;  the  purchase  of  Louisi- 
ana gave  rise  to  many  contests  over  the  institution  of  slavery,  89;  the 


544 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


ordinance  of  1787  was  the  beginningof  the  end  of  slavery  in  America, 
91;  Charles  Osborn  was  the  pioneer  advocate  of  unconditional  eman- 
cipation, 243  et  seq.;  first  anti-slavery  newspaper  in  the  United  States, 
247;  position  taken  by  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting  of  Society  of  Friends 
regarding  slavery,  261  et  seq.;  slavery  petition  of,  1796,  447;  report  on 
petition,  452;  slavery  petition  of  1800,  445;  slavery  petition  of  the  Vin- 
cennes Convention,  461;  resolution  of  Vincennes  Convention,  467; 
letter  of  Wm.  Henry  Harrison,  President  of  Convention,  transmitting 
resolution  to  Speaker  of  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  470; 
report  on  petition,  470;  second  report  on  petition,  473;  legislative  pe- 
tition of  1805,  476;  memorial  from  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties, 
1805,483;  report  on  petition  of  1805,494;  memorial  of  Randolph  and 
St.  Clair  Counties,  1806,  498;  minutes  of  convention  that  framed  last 
memorial,  503;  legislative  resolution  of  1807,  507;  House  report  on 
preceding,  509;  petition  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  1807, 
510;  counter  petition  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  1807,  512; 
legislative  petition  of  1807,  515;  counter  petition  of  Clark  County, 
518;  report  on  preceding,  521;  report  of  Gen.  W.  Johnson,  chairman, 
on  petition,  522;  opinion  of  John  Johnson  in  Polly’s  Case,  528. 

Sledge  Island,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Society  of  Anti- Slavery  Friends,  mention  of,  237;  organization  of  and 
reasons  for,  263. 

Society  of  Friends,  position  on  slavery  taken  by  yearly  meeting  of,  262; 
endeavors  to  hide  the  reason  for  the  degradation  of  Charles  Osborn 
and  associates,  265. 

Southampton  Insurrection,  The,  fired  the  heart  of  the  South,  247. 

South  Bend,  site  of  a portage  from  St.  Joseph’s  to  the  Kankakee  River,  438. 

Spain,  colonization  in  America,  66;  claim  of  to  ownership  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  valley  and  the  contentions  of  the  settlers,  70,  71;  levies  on 
American  commerce  on  the  Mississippi  and  modes  of  redress  sug- 
gested, 73,  74;  treaty  of  October,  1795,  76;  retrocession  of  Louisiana 
to  France,  77. 

Split  Rock,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Springfield,  mention  of,  116. 

St.  Clair  and  Randolph  Counties,  census  of  1801  and  immigration  between 
1801  and  1806,  506. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  mention  of,  114. 

St.  Marc  Parish,  mention  of,  114. 

St.  Mary’s  River,  submission  of  seventeen  tribes  to  the  French  at,  324. 

Stony  Point,  mention  of,  113. 

St.  Philips,  donation  of  land  to  each  family  residing  at,  450,  453. 

Sulpician  Monks,  joined  with  La  Salle  in  fitting  out  his  expedition  to  the 
Ohio  in  1669,  320. 

Susquahanna  River,  mention  of,  117. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


545 

Swearing,  Profane,  threat  of  legislature  of  Northwest  Territory  to  legis- 
late against,  n;  such  legislation  passed,  n. 

Tanner’s  Station,  afterwards  Petersburg,  366. 

Tawav  Village,  mention  of,  113. 

Taxes,  collection  of  in  Northwest  Territory,  9. 

Tax  Laws  of  Indiana  Territory,  18. 

Tennessee  Manumission  Society,  organization  of,  236;  name  changed  to 
“ Manumission  and  Colonization  Society,”  243. 

Territorial  Courts,  trouble  in  regard  to,  27,  28;  equity  jurisdiction  given 
and  appeals  authorized,  28;  manner  of  conducting  court,  29. 

Texas,  Annexation  of,  a result  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  68;  poured  a 
flood  of  light  on  slavery,  265. 

Three  Islands,  mention  of,  111. 

Tippecanoe  (Tripeccans)  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Two  Islands,  mention  of,  112. 

Validity  of  Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges  of  Northwest  Territory,  12. 

Vermillion  (Virmillion)  Indians,  home  of,  410. 

Vermillion  River,  distance  from  Detroit,  437. 

Vincennes,  Borough  of,  incorporated,  24. 

Vincennes,  Laws  of  Governor  and  Judges  of  Northwest  Territory  passed 
at,  8;  one  of  the  settlements  in  Indiana  Territory  in  1800,  16. 

Vincennes  Post,  a considerable  settlement  in  1800,  16;  distress  at  in  1780 
from  lack  of  provisions,  98;  formerly  called  the  Fort  on  the  Wabash, 
331;  population  of,  410;  mention  of,  414,  418;  location  of,  420;  distance 
from  Detroit  437;  title  deeds  and  transfer  to  the  British,  422;  verifica 
tion  of  titles,  425,  426,  427;  notary’s  certificate  thereto,  428;  certif- 
cate  of  commandant  St.  Ange,  429,  430;  authentication  of  tLieu- 
tenant-Governor  Piernas,  431;  letter  of  Gen.  Haldimand  referring  to 
title  deeds,  431  to  434;  list  of  inhabitants  at  in  1769,439;  Indian  title 
to  lands  at  extinguished,  454;  petition  for  a grant  of  land  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools  in,  464;  reports  on,  472. 

Vincennes  University,  incorporation  of,  24;  its  lottery  and  the  judicial 
decisions  concerning  it,  25,  26. 

Wabash  and  Erie  (Wabash  and  Miami)  Canal,  construction  authorized, 
etc.,  190  to  193;  laws  relating  to,  221. 

Wabash  (Ouabache)  River,  acts  providing  for  the  improvement  of,  223; 
mention  of,  326,  327,  329,  332,  335,  338,  339,  341,  342,  344,  347,  410,  416, 
420,  421,  440;  need  of  the  English  fora  fort  at  mouth  of,  416;  mouth 
of,  420;  distance  from  Detroit,  436. 

Wandayon  Sippi.  See  Salt  River. 

Washtanon.  See  Grand  River. 

Wea  River,  inducements  for  settlement  at  mouth  of,  328. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


546 

Western  Tract  Society,  supplied  anti-slavery  information,  237. 

Wheeling,  mention  of,  103,  111,  119,  120,  126. 

Whetzell’s  Trace,  a road  in  1816,  34. 

Whisky  Insurrection,  overthrow  of  strengthened  the  national  sentiment, 

76- 

Wolf  Rapid,  distance  from  Detroit,  435. 

Worcester,  mention  of,  116. 

Youghagania  River,  mention,  111. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Abbott,  Edward,  Lieut. -Gov. 
and  Supt.  of  Vincennes. ..339,  440 


Acheson,  Michael 491 

Adam,  William 491 

Adams,  John,  President 77 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  Presi- 
dent  . 81,  84 

Adeler,  Isaac 493 

Adeler,  James,  Sr 493 

Adeler,  James 493 

Adeler,  John 493 

Ahar,  Auguste 459 

Ahar,  Pierre 459 

Ahnsworth,  William 493 

Aijot, 440 

Akerman,  William 459 

Aldieumet,  St 461 

Alexander,  William 461,491,  514 

Allair. 426 

Allard,  Auguste,  alias  Parer 514 

Allary,  J.  C 489 

Allen,  Bill 378 

Allen,  Solomon 490 

Allery,  Clement 4S9 

Ambereau,  T 490 

Anderson,  Catherine 128 

Anderson,  Captain  Isaac 111 

Anderson,  James 461 

Anderson,  Joseph 490 

Anderson,  Captain  Robert 128 

Anderson,  William 460 

Antire,  Antoine  P 459 

Appellate,  William 514 

Archambeau,  Louis 514 

Archanbat,  Joseph •. 459 

Arcless,  Richard 489 

Armstrong,  John 6 

Arnet,  William 493 

Arnousse,  Francois 489 

Arpain,  439 

Arundel,  William 460,  488 

Atcheson,  George 460,  491 

Atcheson,  William 490 

Atchison,  Michel 491 

Backus,  E 503 


Badgley,  Ichabod.... 

Bagly,  Asher 

49 1 

Baguine, 

Bailoup,  

439 

Baker,  George 

489 

Baker,  Lieutenant... 

Baley,  Israel 

489 

Baley,  James,  Sr 

493 

Baley,  James,  Jr 

493 

Bankson,  Andrew..., 

49° 

Bankson,  Charles.... 

...............  490 

Bankson,  James 

49° 

Bankson,  Silas 

491 

Barbar,  Andre 

5H 

Barbary,  P 

489 

Barbau,  Andre 

459 

Barbau,  B 

459 

Barbau,  Bapte 

459 

Barbee,  Major 

342 

Barber,  David 

459 

Barker,  E 

502>  5°3 

Barois,  Francois 

439 

Barrois,  Francois 

425 

Barru  tel,  Joseph 

49° 

Barthe,  Pierre 

44° 

Barutal,  Blaise 

461 

Barute,  Blaise 

Bates,  Elisha 

257 

Batteau,  Joseph 

489 

Baullon, 

439 

Baumer, 

428 

Bave,  Daniel 

489 

Baverelle,  Tusente.... 

459 

Bayley, , Brigadier-General  116 

Bajdey,  Ephr 

116 

Beaird,  John 

■••502,  503,  512 

Beal,  Mrs 

13° 

Beale,  Cole 

489 

Beard,  William 

242 

Beauharnois, 

332 

Beaulieu,  Basil 

489 

Beaulieu,  Jean 

Beaulieu,  Michel 

Beggs,  Charles 

Beggs,  James 

128,  518 

(547) 


54s 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Beggs,  John 128,  518,  520 

Belcher,  G 489 

Belderback,  Ephraim. ..502,  503,  512 

Belderback,  John 490 

Bell,  William 490 

Bell,  William  H 489 

Benezett,  Anthony 252,  265 

Bennett,  William  117 

Bequete,  J.  C 489 

Bequette,  J.  B 489 

Bergan,  Charles 488 

Bergeron,  427 

Bergerson,  440 

Bergin,  Dennis 489 

Berthelemy, 440 

Bertin,  Pierre 440 

Best,  Samuel 489 

Biddle,  Judge  Horace  P 40,  57 

Bienvenue,  Antoine,  Pre 459 

Bienvenue,  Enris 459 

’r,i'pnva""1S,  Wp^ry 313 

Bienvenue,  Michel...., 514 

Biggs,  George 490 

Biggs,  H 459 

Biggs,  N 502,  503 

Biggs,  W 490 

Biggs, William 3,  505 

Binet,  425 

Birney,  James  G 234,  257 

Birney,  Gen.  William 234 

Biron,  N 460 

Blackford,  Judge  Isaac 227 

Blackmore,  William 252 

Blair,  George 460,  490 

Blay,  Antoine 514 

Blay,  Charles 514 

Blay,  Joseph 514 

Blay,  Josephe 459 

Blondeau,  D 489 

Blount,  William 76 

Blunt,  William 493 

Bois, 459 

Boismeneu,  Nicolas 460 

Boismenn,  Nicholas 489 

Bolton,  Nathaniel 50 

Bonavanture, 427 

Bond,  Shadrack,  Sr 491 

Bond,  Shadrack 460,  505 

Bone,  Barnabas 491 

Bone,  Barneth 490 

Bonneaux,  Charls 425 

Boon,  William 514 

Bordeleau,  425 

Bordelot, 439 


Bosseron,  Charles 426 

Bosseron,  Francois 426 

Botkin,  William 493 

Boucier, 439 

Boutin,  Chariot 4^9 

Boutitinte,  Jaques 459 

Bovoiet,  Alexis 459 

Bovoiet,  Joseph 459 

Bowie,  Allexe 459 

Bowie,  Jerom 459 

Bowen,  Aaron 489 

Bowman,  Col.  John 98 

Boyer, 427 

Boyles,  Bailey 490 

Boyles,  Jesse 490 

Boyles,  S.  A 459 

Bradbury,  James 490 

Brady,  T 460 

Brady,  Thomas 489 

Brant,  Joseph 107,  109 

Brasel,  Valentine 490 

Brasil,  Robert 490 

Brewer,  Martin 489 

Brewer,  N 489 

Brewster,  John 122 

Broadhead,  Col 101 

Brouillet,  425 

Brouster,  John... 1 1 7 

Brown,  Basil 353 

Brown,  Ch 514 

Brown,  John 493 

Brown,  R.  T 183 

Brown,  William  J 353 

Brunett,  439 

Brunette, 427 

Bryant,  Prince 460 

Buaijte,  Cola 459 

Buatte,  Louis 459,  514 

Buatte,  Nicholas 514 

BufFum,  Arnold 265 

Bunch,  Steton 514 

Burnet,  Judge 14 

Burr,  Aaron 24,  75 

Bush,  William 377,  378 

Butler,  Major-General  Benja- 
min F 372 

Cahsey,  Zachariah 493 

Cain,  Jesse 491 

Cairns,  William 489 

Caldwell,  James 490 

Caldwell,  John 460 

Calhoun.  R 459 

Calumiene,  Louis  Petit 490 

Calwell.  John 493 


t 


INDEX  OF  NAMES . 


549 


Cambel,  Johnston 

Campau,  Baptiste 

Campaux,  

Campeau,  J 

Campbell,  Colonel 

Campbell,  Capt.  Thos 

Campbell,  Capt.  William 

Camus,  Francois 

Canifaux, 

Capuchin, 

Cardinal, 

Cardinal,  J 

Cardinal,  La  George 

Cardinal,  Millet 

Carleton,  Sir  Guy 

Carnahan,  Colonel 

Carpenter,  Ephraim 

Carpenter,  E 

Carrigin,  Hugh 

Carruthers,  John 

Carson,  John 

Cartier,  

Casson,  Ante,  alias  Prevost 

Chabot,  Joseph 

Chaffin,  William 

Chalet,  Louis 

Chalfin,  Amos 

Chalfin,  William 460,  502, 

Chamberland,  Bapte-Germain, 


Chamberland,  Louis  Germain, 

Sr 

Chamberland,  Louis  Germain, 

Jr 

Chamberland,  Joseph 

Chambers,  B 

Chambers,  Benjamin 

Chambers,  James 

Champeaux, 

Chanalle,  Francois 

Chance,  Joseph 

Chapard,  Veuve 

Chapeaux, 426, 

Chapot,  J osephe 

CharbiaU,  Louis 

Charpage,  Francois 

Chartier, 

Chartran,  J 

Chartran,  T 

Cheautien,  Pierre 

Chenbeurlend,  Baptiste 

Chenbeurlend,  Louis 

Chenier,  Joseph 

Choslier,  P 

Chouteau,  Therese 


Christie,  William 122 

Clairman, 439 

Clark,  Abram 460 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  24, 97, 98, 

99,  100,  101,  102, 103,  104,  105, 

106,  107,  108,  447 

Clark,  Henry 491 

Clarke,  William 17 

Clay,  Henry 263 

Clement, 440 

Clement,  Captain 116 

Clermont, 426 

Clinton,  De  Witt 256 

Coburn,  Henry  P 53 

Coburn,  General  John 39 

Cochran,  John 514 

Cochran,  Samuel 514 

Coder,  Baptiste 459 

Coder,  Joseph 459 

Coder,  Ren6 459 

Coffin,  Levi 241,  242 

Colbert,  French  Minister 320 

Cole,  James 493 

Coles,  Edward 233 

Coline,  P 490 

Collings,  Henry 132 

Collings,  John 132,  133 

Collings,  Lydia 133 

Collings,  William  E 133 

Collings,  Zebulon 129 

Collins,  Timothy 493 

Coloute,  Fran.  Bapte 514 

Compte,  459 

Compte,  Pierre 459 

Connelly,  Colonel 102 

Conner,  Abner 493 

Conner,  Richard 493 

Conner,  William 377 

Conner,  William  W * 356 

Connor,  Henry 513 

Cook,  Henry 460,  491 

Cook,  Joseph, 490 

Corbaley,  Jeremiah  J 378 

Cornaux,  427 

Cornelius,  James 491 

Cornelius,  Joseph 490 

Cornville,  Pierre 439 

Corwin,  John 379 

Cotineau.  Baptiste 459 

Cotineaux,  Antoine 459,  514 

Cotten,  Benjamin...- 116 

Courcelles, Governor  of  Canada  324 

Cournoyer, 427 

Cowpagarte,  Pierre 489 

Cowper,  Captain 434 


5H 

440 

427 

489 

117 

117 

125 

459 

426 

440 

439 

440 

427 

439 

440 

hi 

.488 

5T4 

488 

490 

5H 

426 

513 

425 

503 

489 

460 

5°3 

5J4 

5I4 

5T4 

5*3 

482 

366 

124 

427 

460 

490 

427 

439 

439 

488 

460 

426 

489 

489 

460 

459 

459 

489 

488 

460 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


5 50 


Cox,  E.  T 183,  220 

Cox,  Henry 490 

Cox, Joseph 493 

Cox,  Thomas 489 

Cox,  William  R 490 

CrafFord,  John 459 

Crandall,  Captain 367 

Crane,  William 493 

Crapper,  Leon 459 

Crapper,  Nathaniel 459 

Crapper,  Thomas 459 

Crawford,  Randall 351 

Crawford,  William 490 

Cray  craft,  Major 111 

Cremour,  James 460 

Cremour,  T 489 

Crepaux, 426 

Crepo, 440 

Cresson,  Elliott 261 

Crocker,  John 490 

Crocker,  Thomas 490 

Crockett,  Colonel 102 

Croghan,  Colonel  336,  338 

Croghan,  Major 104 

Cuffe,  Paul 252 

Cunningham,  Daniel 493 

Cunningham,  George 489 

Cunningham,  William ..  493 

Cunningham,  William,  Jr 493 

Curry,  Calvin 460 

Custland,  Benjamin 491 

Cutler,  Rev.  Dr 7 

D’Abadie,  Governor  - General 

of  Louisiana 430 

Dalahide,  Aquilla 491 

Danes,  Michael 489 

Dani,  459 

Danij,  Antoinne 459 

Danij,  Chatti 459 

Danij,  Michel 459 

Danis,  425 

Danis,  Ante,  Jr 514 

Danis,  Bapte,  Jr 514 

Danis,  Gerome,  Sr 514 

Danis,  Michel,  Jr 514 

Dany,  Charles,  alias  Boutine..  513 

Dartmouth,  Lord 433 

Daves,  Noah 490 

Davis,  C.,  Jr 490 

Davis,  Edwin  A 227 

Davis,  Noah 490 

Davis,  Rachael 236 

Davis,  Thomas  Terry 24 


De  Bellerive,  Louis  St.  Ange. 
See  Si.  Ange. 


De  Bienville,  Governor-Gener- 
al of  Louisiana 430 

Debois,  Louis 489 

Decker,  Enoch 491 

Decochy,  439 

Decochy,  G .,Jils 314 

Decochy,  Louis 314 

De  Comte, 439 

Deford,  George 493 

Degagnier,  Pierre 439 

Degagniez,  Jaques 439 

Dehag,  Jean 489 

Dehai,  Jean 460 

De  Kerlerec,  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  Louisiana 430 

Delaronte,  Alexis 439 

De  Ligne, 439 

De  Ligueris, 333 

Delochy,  G 514 

De  Longeueuil, 33 

De  Lorier, 439 

Delorier, 423 

Demet,  Francois 460 

DeMoyon,  Jean  Louis 427 

Denny,  Able 488 

Denoiyon,  439 

De  Noyon,  Toust 427 

Depe,  Michelle 439 

DePeyster, Major Arent  Schuy- 
ler  113 

Deregnay,  Joseph 313 

Derier,  Saint 426 

Deroin,  Joseph 439 

Descrete,  P 489 

Deshetres, 426 

De  Signe*  423 

Desne,  Magnifique 439 

Desnott, 439 

DeVaudreville,  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  Louisiana 430 

Dewey,  Abel 314 

Dewey,  Judge 352 

Dielle,  426 

Dill,  Gen.  James 353 

Dillon,  John  B 40,  37 

Dimpsey,  John 460 

Dizie,  427 

Doddridge,  Joseph 252 

Dolier  and  Gallinee,  Fathers, 

320,  321 

Domingue, 439 

Dorien,  440 

Douglass,  Ben 49 

Douglass,  James 127 

Downey,  Jeremy 459 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


551 


Downing,  James 490 

Downing,  William 490 

Doyle,  John 459,  489 

Doza,  Alexis 514 

Doza  Allexy 461 

Drapier,  W.  H.  and  A.  E 158 

Drouet,  Veuve 426 

Droiiin, 427 

Drury,  Clement 461,  514 

Drury,  Ralph 461,  503 

Drury,  Raphael 502,  503,  512 

Drury,  Raphel 461 

Drury,  William 461 

Dubois,  439 

Dubois,  Louis 460 

Dubuisson,  Sieur 330,  331 

Dubuque,  B 460 

Duchesne,  439 

Duclos,  459 

Dueclos,  Jean  Bapte 514 

Dulonchant,  L 489 

Dumoulier,  John 489 

Dumoulin,  John 452 

Dumoulin,  Js.. 460 

Dunn,  James 460 

Dunn,  William 461,  488 

Dupre,  John 489 

Durbois, 427 

Dutremble, 439 

Eads,  James 493 

Eads,  William 493 

Edgar,  441,  442 

Edgar,  J..459,  488,  502,  503,  505,  512 

Edgar,  John 452,  503 

Edgar,  Js 459 

Edgar,  James • 489 

Edgerton,  Walter 241,  242 

Elliott,  Leroy 489 

Ellis,  Lieutenant 434 

Embree,  Elihu 2^7 

Endsley,  Abraham 493 

Endsley,  Andrew,  Sr 493 

Endsley,  Andrew 493 

Endsley,  Hugh 493 

Endsley,  John 493 

Endsley,  Thomas 493 

Eneaux,  Nicholas,  alias  Canada  513 

Ensminger,  D 489 

Estes,  Elijah 514 

Evans,  Thomas  J 354 

Everitt,  John 502,  503,  512 

Everts,  John 503 

Ewing,  David, 493 

Ewing,  John 493 

Eymam,  Abraham 490 


Farrell,  William,  7 jiote,  23  note , 144 

Favor,  Captain 116 

Feeter,  John 490 

Ferguson,  Judge  C.  P 351 

Ferguson,  Isaac 491 

Ferguson,  William 491 

Finch,  Judge  John 377,  379 

Finch,  John  A 190 

Finney,  J 514 

Fisher,  G 482 

Fisher,  George 461,  514 

Fisher,  John 461 

Fislar,  Jim 354 

Fletcher,  Calvin 181 

Fleming,  Peter 493 

Flood,  William 493 

Floyd,  Davis 518,  520 

Foote,  Winthrop 364,  365 

Foote,  Ziba 358 

Forgison,  John 490 

Forgorson,  John 491 

Fortian,  Baptist 459 

Ford, James 514 

Foster,  ’Squire 367 

Franklin,  Benjamin 84 

Franklin,  George 489 

Francois,  Loui 459 

Fraser,  Lieutenant  Aer 408 

Frazier,  Thomas 242 

Fullwood,  David 121 

Fulton,  David 490 

Fulton,  John 490 

Fulton,  Thomas 490 

Fultor,  David 490 

Gage,  General 423,  433 

Gagnolett^,  427 

Gallinee,  Fathers  Dolier  and 

320,  321 

Gamelin,  Michael 489 

Garrishe,  Colonel 116 

Garrison,  William  Loyd,  234, 

239,240,  244 

Garrote,  N 460 

Gaskell,  Paul 490 

Gayoso,  Don  Manuel 75 

Genin,  Thomas  H 256 

Gendron,  Bapte 513 

Gendron,  J.  B 489 

Gendron,  Louis 489 

Gerandin,  0 489 

Germaine,  Charles 489 

Gervais,  Louis 489 

Gettie,  Arr'en 460 

Gibson,  Col.  J 100 

Gibson, John 24,  143 


552 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Gilbreath,  James 490,  513 

Gildram,  Samuel 491 

Gillam,  Jonathan 493 

Gillham,  James 491 

Gillham,John 491 

Gilliam,  John 493 

Girarding,  Antoine 490 

Girrard,  Eli 367 

Godair,  Isidore,  alias  Pana 514 

Godair,  Isidore,  Jr 514 

Godair,  Jean  Bapte 514 

Godair,  Pierre,  alias  Pana 514 

Goder,  Francois 427 

Coder,  Louis 425 

Goder,  Pierre 426 

Godere,  Francois 439 

Godere,  Lagarouche 439 

Goderis,  Alexis 488 

Godin,  Jean  N .■ 489 

Godin,  Pierre 489 

Goin,John 490 

Goin,  William 490 

Goinge,  William 502,  503 

Goinges,  William 459 

Goings,  William 503 

Gonville,  Joseph 490 

Grant,  U.  S 371 

Graves,  Jacob 241,  242 

Gray,  John  488 

Green,  George 491 

Greignier,  Jos 489 

Grifen,  Isaac 490 

Griffen,John 17 

Griggs,  Jesse 490 

Grimar,  439 

Grimard, 426 

Griswold,  Roger 86 

Grondine,  Francois 460 

Grondine,  Pois 490 

Grooms,  John 461 

Gross,  William  L 23  note 

Grosvenor,  Parker 461 

Grovenor,  John 488 

Grovenor,  Parker 488 

Guerin,  Pierre 489 

Guerion,  Pierre 460 

Guittarre,  Jean 459 

Guthery,  Francis 490 

Gwathemy,  Samuel  517 

Hackleman,  Jacob,  Sr 493 

Hackleman,  Jacob 493 

Hademan,  Mical 493 

Hague,  John 488,  514 

Halderman,  John 489 

Haldiman,  Fred 109 


Haldimand,  General 431 

Haley,  William 489 

Hamilton,  Alexander 77,  84 

Hamilton,  British  commandant 

at  Detroit 69 

Hamilton,  Robert 460 

Hammond,  Charles 256 

Hanna,  David  G 493 

Hanna,  John 493 

Hanna,  Joseph 493 

Hanna,  Robert 493 

Hanna,  Robert,  Jr 493 

Hanna,  Samuel 493 

Harbonnaux,  Charle 439 

Hardin,  Col,  John 341 

Harding,  Eliakim 388 

Harding,  Robert 378,  387,  388 

Harding,  Samuel 378 

Harnkon,  P 490 

Harrison,  James 514 

Harrison,  John 514 

Harrison,  Thomas 490 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  16, 

24>  3L  32>  468*  469i  47°>  5°9 

Hatten,  Henry 460 

Hay,  John 459,  489 

Hayes,  John 460 

Hays,  John 489 

Haj's,  Robert 514 

Hazeel,  Daniel 491 

Hazel,  Daniel 514 

Hazel,  Richard 514 

Hebert,  Edward 489 

Henderson,  James 460,  493 

Hennepin,  Father 325 

Heris,  Joseph 460 

Heyrick,  Elizabeth 234,  239 

Hicks,  Elias 235 

Hieviere,  Josefe 459 

Hieviere,  Michel 459 

Hieviere,  Vitti 459 

Higgens,John 491 

Higgins,  Philemon 491 

Higins,  Robert 490 

Hill,  John 490 

Hill,  Jonathan 490 

Holland,  M 489 

Holley,  Myron 233 

Holman,  George 493 

Honeberry,  Patt ; 460 

Hooper,  James 490 

Hooper,  Ob 491 

Hopper,  Isaac  T 265 

Hotchkiss,  Miles 459,  488 

Hough,  William ... 242 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


553 


Hovey,  Gov.  Alvin  P.,  7 tiote,  23  note 

Hoyerman,  Benjamin 490 

Hughs, John 514 

Hull,  Daniel 491 

Hull,  Giles 491 

Hull,  W 461 

Hunter,  William 17 

Hurst,  H 517 

Hutchins,  Thomas 417,  418 

Hutchinson,  Captain 433 

Hutte,  G 459 

Iduls,  H 490 

Irnan,  Ab’m 512 

Jacanay,  Samuel 490 

Jame,  Joseph 489 

James,  Thomas  489 

Jandron,  Charles 459 

Jarrot,  M.... 502 

Jarrot,  N ; 503,  512 

Jarvis,  Franklin 490 

Jaunay,  Samuel 514 

Jay,  John 71 

Jazon,  Jean 439 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  68,  78, 79, 80, 

81,  82,  86,  88,  99,  100 

Jendron,  Baptiste 459 

Jendron,  Josephe 459 

Jenkins,  Lieutenant 334 

Johnson,  Colonel 116 

Johnson,  Judge  James 28 

Johnson,  Jeremiah 378,  493 

Johnson,  John 23,  144,  482,  528 

Johnson,  Oliver 245,  246 

Johnson,  Thomas  A 493 

Johnson,  Sir  William 335,  339 

Johnston,  John  R 126 

Johnston,  General  W 144,  522 

Johnston,  William ; 493 

J’ohorson,  William 490 

Joliet 323 

Jones,  Henry 461,  491 

Jones,  John  Rice,  23,  144,  459, 

468,  469,  482 

Jones,  William  T.  J 355 

Jonston,  William 460 

Jordan,  James 490 

Joseph,  John 488 

Judah,  John  M 7 note 

Junie,  John 489 

Kean,  James... 120 

Kelly,  William 461 

Kelty,  W 490 

Kenney,  Abraham 461 

Kenney,  Joseph 461 

Kenney,  Samuel 503 


Kenor,  Jess 

49 1 

Kicket,  Joseph 

459 

Kidd,  John 

..459,  490 

Kiefhart,  Henrv 

5*4 

Kilty,  W 

49° 

King,  Captain 

342 

King,  William 

459 

Kinkead,  Samuel 

Kinney,  Abraham 

Kinney,  Samuel 

••5°2>  5°3 

Kinney,  William 

Kinzie,  John 

Kirkpatrick,  J ames 

49 1 

Krey,Jph 

5H 

Labrierre,  Ante 

5H 

La  Chine, 

Lacey,  Edward 

491 

Lacey,  Joshua 

49° 

Lacey,  Samuel 

49 1 

Lacy,  Charles 

377 

Lachapelle,  Ante 

5X3 

Lachapelle,  Antoine 

459 

Lachapelle,  Basil 

459 

Lachapelle,  Batite 

459 

Lachapelle,  L 

5r4 

Lachapelle,  Louis 

459 

La  Cuxier, 

489 

Ladd,  Captain 

La  D6route, 

425 

Ladouceur,  L 

489 

LaFayette,  Marquis  de.... 

85 

Laflae,  P 

489 

La  Fleur, 

427 

Lafleur,  Gabriel,  alias  Gagent..  513 

La  Foret,  

427 

La  Framboise,  Antoine.. 

439 

La  fulliade,  

439 

Lagaissie, 

439 

Lagannierre,  

425 

La  Garde,  Jean 

Lagarde,  Jean 

439 

Lagrandeur,  Jean  Bapte,  alias 

Guitaro 

■ 5T4 

Lagrave,  Michel 

Lagrove,  M 

489 

L’Aine,  Tonga 

Lajoye,  Baptiste 

459 

Lajoye,  Pierre 

459 

Lake, 

433 

Lamare,  Joseph 

5H 

Lamorceau,  

44° 

Lanaurd,  Tean  Adrian.... 

459 

Lanawoer,  A 

5*3 

Laney,  John 

49° 

Laney,  'Reuben 

49° 

554 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Langlois, 

Langlois,  Charles 

Langlois,  Etien 

Langlois,  Etienne 

Langlois,  Francois 459, 

Langoumois,  

Languedoc,  

Languirand,  A 

Lanquedoc  freres 

Laperche,  Pe 

Laperche,  Pierre 

La  Plante, 

Laplante,  I.  B 

La  Riviere, 

La  Rose, 

La  Salle,  319,  320,  321,  322,  323, 

325>  326> 

La  Soude, 

Lasselle,  Antoine 

Lasselle,  Stanislaus  

Latrimouille, 

La  Tullippe, 

Latuxiere,  John 

Laurain, 

La  Violette,  Francois 

Lavoie,  Joseph,  Sr 


Lavoir,  Joseph 

Leavitt,  Abijah 

Le  Brun,  Louis 460, 

Lecey,  Samuel 

Le  Compt,  Julien 

Le  Compte,  Louis 460, 

Le  Conte,  Pierre 

Lee,  Jacob 


Le  Faivre,  Francois 

Le  Febvre, 

Lefevre, , 

Lefevre, , Pierre 

Legar,  

Le  Meaud,  Clodius 

Le  Meaud,  Francis 

Le  Meaud,  Louis 

Lemen,  James 502,  503, 

Lemen,  Robert 

Lemon,  James 

Le  Paneie,  Pierre 

Le  Renan,  J 

Lestogos,  Joseph 

Lethrune,  S.  Hubert,  Jr 

Letoms,  Pascal 

Levenj,  Henry 502, 

Levin,  Abraham 

Levin,  Henry 

Levron, 

Lewis,  Abel 


Lewis,  Ezekiel 

L’Hommedieu,  

Lightell,  James 

49° 

Ligueris,  M.  de 

333 

Liley,  John 

49° 

Linton,  William 

•»••••  379 

Lionay, 

459 

Liqe,  Pierre 

49° 

Little,  Abraham 

518 

Livingston,  Edward 

85 

Lock,  John 

488 

Logan,  James 

493 

Logan,  Samuel 

493 

Logan,  William 

493 

Logsdon,  Captain 

342 

Longreal,  Joseph 

5H 

Lonval,  

489 

Lopage,  J 

489 

Lorain, 

335 

Lord,  Captain 

•433,  434 

Loughery,  Col.  Archibald. 

97 

Louviere,  Antoine,  fils 

459 

Louviere,  D’Amour 

459 

Louvierre,  Antoinne 

5*4 

Louvin,  Ch 

459 

Lovejoy,  Elijah  P 

248 

Loveston,  George 

493 

Lucas,  William 

489 

Ludlow,  Israel 

366 

Lundy,  Benjamin 

234 

Lusk,  Vance 

49 1 

Latuxiere,  John 

489 

Lyle,  John 

489 

McBrier,  David 

McBrier,  Elizabeth 

118 

McCarty,  Benjamin 

493 

McCarty,  Enoch,  Sr 

493 

McCarty,  Enoch,  Jr 

493 

McCarty,  Patrick., 

493 

McCarty,  William 

493 

McCormick,  John . 

378 

McCoy,  Captain 

341 

McCoy,  James 

493 

McCoy,  Thomas 

493 

McCoy,  William 

493 

McCurdy,  David 

378 

McCutcheon,  John 

493 

McDaniels,  Aaron 

460 

McFerron,  Joseph 

459 

McGary,  Captain 

98 

McGaughejq  Arthur 

ii7 

McGloghton,  William 

461 

McGowan,  Janies 

489 

Mcllvain,  James 

378 

McIntosh,  John 

415 

439 

459 

459 

5H 

5H 

427 

439 

489 

427 

460 

489 

427 

528 

440 

427 

327 

459 

528 

58 

427 

425 

489 

440 

426 

5J4 

459 

5H 

489 

490 

489 

489 

5I4 

493 

489 

427 

440 

439 

439 

461 

461 

461 

512 

460 

503 

459 

489 

489 

490 

489 

5°3 

461 

503 

426 

491 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


555 


McKee,  Captain 107,  112 

McMahon,  Robert 459,  461 

McMutrey,  G 490 

M’Mutry,  J 489 

McNabb,  Charles 514 

McNabb,  James 459 

M’Nall,  Charles  490 

M’Roberts,  William 490 

McWilliams,  W 121 

Macy,  Enoch 242 

Madison,  James 81 

Magate,  J 489 

Maignian,  440 

Mainwaring,  Solomon 493 

Maisonville,  .......335,  425,  440 

Maisonville,  Francois 440 

Major  William 493 

Malette,  Antoine 425 

Malette,  Louis 425 

Mall,  Henry “ 460 

Malle, fils 439 

Malle,  Mrs 439 

MallSt, 439 

Mallette,  Francois 427 

Mallette,  Veuve 427 

Manege, Joseph 490 

Maner,  Jesse 514 

Mansfiel,  James 490 

Mansfield,  E.  D 369 

Mansfield,  Jared 358 

Manwaring,  Richard,  Sr 493 

Manwaring,  Richard,  Jr 493 

Marassi,  Pierre 514 

Marci,  Antoine 439 

Maria,  427 

Marie,  Ste 421,  441 

Marier, 425 

Marney,  John 460 

Maroit,  J.  D 489 

Marshall,  Joseph  G 354 

Marshall,  William 377 

Marteau,  Gabriel 489 

Martin,  Pierre,  Sr 489 

Martin,  Pierre,  Jr 489 

Martin,  Saint 426 

Martyr,  Moses 493 

Mason,  Captain 117 

Mather,  Elihu 489 

Meanern,  James 490 

Mechlin,  Jacob,  Jr 123 

Meleyer,  425 

Menard,  Francois 514 

Menard,  Hipolite 459,  513 

Menard,  Pierre 482,  508 

Mennier,  Joan 489 


Mercier,  B 489 

Mercier,  Hubert 489 

Mercier,  Julien 489 

Mesenger,  John 503 

Messinger,  J 502,  512 

Metaige,  Josephe 439 

Meteyer, 425 

Meunier,  Jean 460 

Michel,  Peter 490 

Miller,  Henry  490 

Miller,  William 490 

Millet,  426 

Millet,  Cardinal 427 

Millholland,  John 493 

Millhomme,  Jean 439 

Miranda,  Don  Francisco  de 77 

Miret,  Pierre 439 

Montgomery,  Colonel 98 

Montray,  J.  B 490 

Montray,  J.  B.,  Jr 490 

Mordock,John 490 

Morgan,  Francois 331 

Morin,  Louis 459 

Morreaux,  426 

Morris,  Gouverneur 84 

Morrison,  Ephraim 368 

Morrison,  J 489 

Morrison,  James 459 

Morrison,  Jess 490 

Morrison,  Jesse 459 

Morrison,  Robert,  459,  488,  505,  506 

Morrison,  Samuel 366 

Morrison,  Samuel 366,  491 

Morrison,  T 461 

Morrison,  William 452,459,  488 

Morrison,  W.  E 461 

Morrow,  Thomas 490 

Moutrie,  Anthony 459 

Moutrie,  Jean  Baptiste 459 

Moutre,  Jean  Baptiste,  Jr 459 

Mull,  Daniel 460 

Nailman,John 493 

Navanel,  Joseph 459 

Najdor,  Elizabeth 128 

Naylor,  Judge  1 128 

Naylor, John 128 

Newburg,  T 461 

Newbury,  Thomas 490 

Nicholas,  439 

Nichols,  William 460 

Nicole, Julien 489 

Norres,  John 493 

Norris,  Captain 133 

Norris,  Mrs.  John 132 

Nouveau, 439 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


556 


Nowland,John 460 

Odeil,  Daniel 490 

O’Hara,  Henry 460,  491 

O’Hara,  John 460,  491 

Ohara,  Patrick 493 

Oliver,  Moses 459,  490 

Olivier, 427 

Olivier,  Nichola 459 

Olivier,  Nicholas,  alias  Mahin..  514 

O’Neill,  Charles 489 

Orlans, 439 

Orr,  Captain  Robert 106,  125 

Osborn,  Charles 234,  266 

Osborn,  Isaiah 242 

Owen,  David  Dale 182 

Owen,  Robert  Dale 355 

Owens,  John 518 

Page,  Daniel 489 

Page,  J 488 

Page,  Josephe 459 

Page,  Peter 489 

Paget, 427 

Paget,  Francis 490 

Paill6, 440 

Paitque,  Michel 459 

Palmier,  David 461 

Palmier,  Jean 461 

Pana,  Benifeance,  alias  Godair.  514 

Pana,  Pierre 459 

Panat,  439 

Pansanno,  Etienne 503 

Parke,  Judge 28 

Parke,  B 482 

Parker,  Abraham 489 

Parrot,  J 489 

Parsons,  Samuel 6,  14 

Patterson,  James 490 

Patton,  Robert 514 

Patton,  William 491 

Payne,  Ellis 132 

Payne,  John 491 

Peleteree,  439 

Pelletier, 427 

Pelletier,  Ante,  alias  Autoya...  514 

Peltier,  Antoine 490 

Peltier,  Joseph 514 

Peltier,  Michel 490 

Peradort,  Antoine 439 

Perat,  Leon 459 

Perat,  Pier 459 

Periaux,  Louis 459 

Perio,  Louis,  «Aa^Verboncoeur  514 

Perodeau,  425 

Peron,  Pere 425,  439 

Peron,  fils 425 


Peron,  Pierre 439 

Perot,  Nicholas 440 

Perre,  Jendron 439 

Perrey,  .460,  489,  502,503,  512 

Perrin,  Baptiste 459 

Perrin,  Jean  Bapte 514 

Perry,  Jean  F 303 

Petit,  Louis 460 

Pettetier,  Louis 489 

Pettit,  Amos 461 

Pettit,  Charles 490 

Pettit,  Jonathan 490 

Peyrade,  Ensign  Chevalier  de  la  333 

Philibert, 425 

Phillibert,  J.  E 428 

Phillips,  William 490 

Pickering,  Timothy... 86 

Piernas,  Don  Pedro 431 

Pillette,  Louis,  alias  Lasoude...  314 

Pinsoneau,  E 489 

Pinsoneau,  Etne 502,  503,  512 

Pinsoneau,  Louis 460 

Pinsonneau,  Louis 489 

Pinsono,  Etn 460 

Pitette,  Louis 489 

Pitette,  Michael 489 

Pitette,  Michette 460 

Plichon, 426 

Plichon,  Francois 426 

Poere,  Antoine 514 

„ Pogue,  George 378 

Poisson,  Louis 460 

Polinnete, 427 

Pontiac 336,  338 

Porae,  Peter 488 

Porter,  William 460,  491 

Poupard,  Joseph,  Sr 460 

Poupard,  Joseph,  Jr 460 

Poupart,  Joseph,  Sr 489 

Poupart,  Joseph,  Jr 489 

Powers,  Thomas 75 

Prewet,  Fields 491 

Prewet,  Joseph 491 

Prewet,  Solomon 491 

Prewet,  William 491 

Price,  Captain 341 

Primm,  Thomas 489 

Proffit,  George  H 355 

Prophet,  The 347 

Provencalle, 439 

Provo,  Antoine 459 

Pruit,  Abraham 491 

Puckett,  Daniel 241,  242 

Purdue. John 205 

Putnam,  Rufus 7,  28 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


557 


Quincy,  Josiah 

Racicault, 

Racine,  J.  Bte 

Ralph,  Asa 

Ralph,  Hazen 

- Ramp,  George  Renne 

Randolph,  John 

Randolph,  Thomas 

Raney,  William 

Rankin,  Dr.  A.T 

Rankin,  Rev.  John 237,  238, 

Ranon,  Jesse 

Rapicaut, 

Ratliff,  Edward 

Rattan,  Richard 

Ray,  Joseph 

Rector,  William 

Reed,  Enos  B 

Reed,  Jos 

Reed,  Moses  B 

Reed,  Oliver 

Reed,  William 

Relhen,  Francis 

Reynolds,  John 

Reynolds,  Robert 

Richarville,  Mrs 

Right,  John 

Ritcheson,  George 

Ritchie,  John,  Jr 

Roberts,  George 

Roberts,  W 

Robertson,  Robert 

Robins,  John 

Robins,  William 

Robinson,  D.  C 

Robinson,  R...488,  502,  503,  505, 

Robison,  Robert 

Rodrigue,  Diego 

Rodrigues,  Diego 

Ronillard,  Louis 

Rue,  Richard 

Ruseau,  Francois 

Russel,  Enoch 

Russell,  James 

Russell,  John 

Russell,  Robert 

Ryan,  Michel 

Sabotte,  Joseph 

Sachisne,,  Charle 

Sagnaux, 

Salmon,  Richard 

Sanford,  David 358, 

Sanschagrin,  

Sanspeur,  


Sans  Peur,  Jean  Baptiste 426 

Sans  Peur,  Pierre 423 

Sargent,  Winthrop 6,  8 

Saucier,  B 460 

Saucier, J.  Bt 489 

Scot,  Charles 493 

Scot,  Powel 493 

Scott,  Alexander 490 

Scott,  General  Charles 340 

Scott,  James 490 

Scott,  Jehu 460 

Scott,  John 490 

Scott,  Joseph 490 

Scott,  Samuel 490 

Scott,  William 490,502,503,  512 

Scott,  William,  Sr 460 

Scott,  William,  Jr 460 

Scruggs,  Natt 491 

Selden,  Roger 461 

Shannon,  Captain 106,  111 

Shaw,  William 514 

Sheets,  William 353 

Shook,  Daniel 490 

Shook,  David  P 368 

Shook,  Laurence 490 

Shook,  Samuel 490 

Shook,  Solomon 460 

Short,  Jacob 460 

Short,  Moses 490,  502,  503,  512 

Shugart,  John 241,  242 

Singleton,  John 460 

Sinical,  Toussin 459 

Sink,  Daniel 460 

Siteng,  Parat 460 

Smith,  Caleb  B.. 354 

Smith,  James 514 

Smith,  Michael 461 

Smith,  Oliver  H..... 355 

Smith,  Robert 461 

Smith,  William 493 

Smith,  William,  Jr 493 

Spannart,  John 459 

Speakman,  William 489 

Speers,  Robert 493 

Spencer,  Samuel  S 461 

Spike,  General 114 

Sproat,  Col.  Ebenezer 7 

Squires,  Amos 491 

St.  Ange,  Louis. ..407,  408,  429,  431 

St.  Aubain,  Jean 427 

St.  Aubin, 439 

St.  Clair,  Arthur.  .6,  13,  28,  31,  32 

St.  Clair,  William 452 

St.  Germain,  Jean  Louis 460 


86 

427 

425 

493 

493 

49 1 

91 

353 

493 

238 

246 

49 1 

439 

490 

491 

369 

362 

181 

490 

490 

489 

490 

49 1 

489 

49 1 

439 

5*4 

460 

460 

460 

490. 

518 

460 

460 

490 

512 

503 

5L4 

459 

489 

493 

459 

493 

493 

493 

493 

460 

439 

439 

426 

1 16 

360 

439 

439 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


558 

St.  Lusson,  Sieur  de 
St.  Marie,  Jean  Baptiste  Racine 


Stanto,  George,  Jr... 
Stanton,  Benjamin.. 

Star,  Daniel 

Ste.  Marie 

Stevens,  Stephen  C 
Stockley,  Captain.. 

Stockton,  J ames 

Stokely,  Thomas.... 

Stookey,  Daniel 

Stoops,  David 

Storm,  Thomas 


Stotsenberg,  John  H 18  n. 

Stoucky,  Solomon 

Stout,  E 17, 


Strong,  Wharham 

Stroud,  Adam 

Stroud,  Samuel 

Suinaitte,  Jaque 

Swain,  Elihu 

Swain,  Jonathan 

Swain,  Rachael.  See  Davis , 
Rachael. 

Symmes,  John  Cleves 6,  8, 

Talbot,  John 

Talbot,  T.  H 

Talon,  Intendant 

Tanqui,  Francois 

Tate,  James  H 

Taylor,  Zachary 

Templeton,  John 

Templeton,  Robert,  Sr 

Templeton,  Robert 

Templeton,  Robert  A 

Templeton,  William 

Terrell,  William  H.  H.,  Adju- 
tant-General  

Teter,  Solomom 

Thibault, 

Thomas,  Anthony 

Thomas,  Jesse  B 482,  508, 

Thompson,  Alexander 

Thompson,  Captain.. ..107,  112, 

Thompson,  Jane 

Thompson,  Samuel 

Thomson,  John 

Thorn,  D 

Thorn,  Daniel 

Thorn,  S 

Tibaux,  Charles 

Tibeau,  Francois 

Tilyea,  Charles 


Tiner,  Solomon 493 

Tiner,  William 493 

Tinnant,  Moses 491 

Tobias,  A.  W -..  132 

Todd,  Captain 116 

Todd,  Thomas 460 

Toiniche,  Baptiste 459 

Toiton, 459 

Toiton,Jrm 514 

Tonty 325 

Torton,  Osm 491 

Touchette, Joseph 489 

Touke,  P 489 

Tourgoie, 459 

Toutous,  Fransoit 459 

Toutous,  Josefe 459 

Toutous,  Michel 459 

Trotier,  Auguste 490 

Trotier,  Clement 489 

Trotier,  Joseph 461,  489 

Trotier,  Louis 489 

Trotier,  Pois 489 

Tupper,  Benjamin 7 

Turgeon,  Nicholas 489 

Turgotte,  Fr 460 

Turner,  George 8 

Valanten,  Denis 460 

Valcour,  439 

Valeur,  Ambrose 514 

Vallantine,  George 460 

Vanderburg  (Vander  Burg), 

Henry 17,  24 

Van  der  Poel,  Jan  Hendick 460 

Vanmetre,  William 493 

Vannatre,  Isaac 460 

Varnum,  James  Mitchell 6 

Vasseur,  Ambrose 459 

Vasseur,  Joseph 459 

Vaudreuil,  Governor  of  Canada, 

323»  330 

Vaudrille,  439 

Vaudry, 426 

Vaudry,  Antoine 489 

Veaudry,  Antoin 460 

Vernette,  440 

Villeneuve, 427 

Vincennes,  Commandant  Sieur 

de 332 

Wadale,  Jesse 491 

Waddell,  Alexander 460,  491 

Waddell,  David 460,  491 

Waddell,  Davies 460 

Waddell, James 460 

Waddell, Jesse 409 

Wadley,  Thomas 489 


323 

44 1 

439 

490 

242 

460 

421 

352 

126 

49 1 

120 

490 

493 

117 

H3 

512 

*43 

489 

460 

460 

439 

236 

242 

28 

489 

489 

320 

5H 

460 

*3X 

493 

493 

493 

493 

493 

167 

460 

425 

490 

5*7 

124 

IT3 

118 

122 

493 

490 

459 

490 

5H 

5*4 

493 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Wadly,  Jesse 

Walker,  Captain 

Walker,  Colonel 

Walker,  Hugh 

Walker,  John 

Wallace,  David 

Wallace,  Richie 

Wargrit,  Adam 

Washburn,  E.  B 

Wason,  Joseph 

Washington,  George 

Way,  H.  H 241, 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony 

Weakefield,  Charles 

Wells,  William 

West,  Aaron 

Weyand,  Jacob,  Jr 

Wheeldon,  John 

White,  Reuben 

Whiteside,  Davis 

Whiteside,  John. ..460,  490,  502, 

Whiteside,  Joel 

Whiteside,  Robert 


Whiteside,  William 460,  491, 

Whiteside,  William  Bolin 

Whiteside,  Uel 

Whyskey,  A 

Wilkins,  Colonel 

Wilkinson,  General 

Wilkinson,  Lieutenant-Col 

Wilkinson,  General  James 

Williams,  A.  P 

Williams,  Isaac 

Williams,  Micajah  T 

Williams,  Thomas 

Willson,  W 

Willoughby,  Ebr 

Wilson,  Isaac 

Wilson,  James 

Wilson,  William 488, 

Winter,  George 

Wise,  Henry  A 

Wittmer,  George 

Woodward,  James 

Woolman,  John 

Wright,  Elezur 


490 

1 16 

116 

490 

490 

355 

120 

489 

233 

493 

70 

242 

76 

490 

260 

49 1 

489 

459 

488 

49 1 

503, 

512 

49 1 

490 


